


Vibing and keeping it tight

by Stealthtable, Tanacetum



Series: Vibing and keeping it tight [1]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Anal Sex, Co-workers, Drama & Romance, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Foreplay, Found Family, How? You'll see, Kravitz and Taako land themselves in a convoluted mess of a relationship, Kravitz is ready to throw hands with Taako's stalker, Kravitz isn't the grim reaper...yet, Lightspeed/slowburn romance, M/M, Miscommunication, Mistaken Identity, Mostly this AU is a nauseating amount of fluff from both Taakitz and Blupjeans, New Relationship, Oral Sex, Romantic Comedy, Schmoopy flirting, Sexting, Taako makes sure Kravitz eats real food
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2020-07-29 19:46:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 38
Words: 181,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20087758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stealthtable/pseuds/Stealthtable, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tanacetum/pseuds/Tanacetum
Summary: Trautonium_Corvid and T_sizzle have been online boyfriends for eight months. It was love at first sight of their mutually terrible Grindr profile pics.Kravitz and Taako have been working together at the corner deli for all of eight minutes, and they already hate each other.Will our heroes ever reveal their identities? Will they learn how to run a basic social media search on romantic prospects? Stay tuned to watch this whole facade crumble around their ears! Eventual smooching guaranteed.





	1. First Impressions/guns are drawn

**Author's Note:**

> **Stealthtable:** This idea came to me when I remembered a scene from [ The Shop Around the Corner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shop_Around_the_Corner/). One character delivered such a sick burn that the other wheezed in shock, and that seemed like an extremely good fit for a Taakitz enemies-to-lovers fic. From the instant we formed this dream team it’s been a delight, and it’s clear why this story is a classic that’s been remade once every couple decades or so.
> 
> The title comes from a MBMBAM Jumbotron which simply read “thanks for vibing and keeping it tight, if you need me, I’ll be on my mobile”. That message does almost as poor a job communicating as Taako and Kravitz do here.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Before you start reading, make sure you've got "Show creator's style" turned on! This fic uses formatting for texting conversations.**
> 
>   
If it's working, you'll see the occasional emoji.

It was nine in the morning and the antique taffy pulling machine was gone. Kravitz frowned at the empty spot, keychain still in his hand. The machine hadn't worked since the Nixon administration, sure, but it was a fixture of the shop. People took selfies with it. There were divots pressed into the laminate flooring from its legs. An outline of calcified dust and rust.

He was scuffing the marks with his toe when the back door banged open.

"Ah, you're early!" Brad called over his shoulder, walking backwards as he dragged something along. The muscles in his arms <s>and ass</s> rippled. 

Kravitz backed up against the bulletin board, wide-eyed. "This is...when I'm supposed to open? What are you doing here?" Brad was never around on weekday mornings. He owned the shop, but he also had a day job. That was why he hired Kravitz to run the counter.

With a resounding scrape, the thing Brad was dragging bumped over the threshold. He turned to slide it between the shelves. It was an empty, glass-faced deli case. Kravitz's frown deepened.

"I told you to sleep in," Brad said cheerfully, shoving the deli case forward. "I take it you didn't get my texts?"

"N-no," Kravitz said. While Brad squared the deli case over the rust patch and fumbled around for an outlet, Kravitz fished his phone and a mess of cords out of his messenger bag, shoving aside the sheet music he had wanted to review that morning. "I've got it plugged into an external battery. It uh, the part that plugs into the wall was broken and it died, so first I had to charge the battery..."

He held the power button down. The screen flashed bright white and got as far as displaying the charging symbol at 2% before flickering off again. "It's...going to take a while."

Brad straightened up with a grin. “This looks like a good spot, I think,” he said, giving the case a thump. “Faces the windows! It’ll look great from the street.”

“I thought we weren’t doing prepared food…?” They’d attempted a macaroni salad and some sandwiches when Brad floated the idea two weeks ago. Both efforts had been disastrous: the pasta crunchy, the sandwich soggy, and the mess spectacular. Kravitz had thought the matter settled. “You said I wouldn’t be cooking after all.”

Brad held a fist to his tusks and coughed delicately. “Yes, um, I did text you. Someone answered our Indeed dot com posting.”

The link that his phone hadn’t opened. Kravitz’s stomach swooped. “Ah, and…”

“It’s good that we’re both here, actually! I can introduce you.”

In the kitchen, Taako ran another glance over the counters. _Adequate,_ but he made a mental note to start a list of stuff he’d need. It was kind of obvious that Brad hadn’t cared for the space. There were a lot of bare cabinets. The pantry was half dust and kind of crammed awkwardly in a corner, and the back door to the alley was blocked behind a wall of boxes.

Besides the weird, unused kitchen, “Far Corners” was a weird name for a shop. Kind of cute, but he hadn’t known what to expect before walking in. There really was food from _everywhere,_ just wait ‘til Taako got experimenting. Excellent!

The voices coming from the front of the store rose. Sounded like Brent—Brett? Brody? Brad? whatever—the owner, and another dude. Must be the guy that Br—ennan? Nah, Brad, sticking with that—said manned the counter and waited on customers. Taako was here to cook, not stock shelves and deal with the _public_. He’d made sure that much was clear in the interview. For now, though, couldn’t hurt to make a good first impression, establish some ground rules—_don’t touch anything_ for _sure._

He pushed the door open and strode out of the kitchen, all swagger and bounce and motion. “‘Sup, you the cashier?” he asked.

_"Assistant manager,"_ Kravitz said acidly, taking in Taako’s decidedly casual skinny jeans and collection of gold bangles.

"Yes, Taako, this is Kravitz." Brad's face didn't show one iota of the concern creasing Kravitz's features as Taako's sauntering brushed him against the shoebox shelves crowding the main counter, all fully stocked with glass jars of imported pickles and relishes and preserves and jams. Visions of having to sweep up broken glass and sticky syrup danced before Kravitz's eyes.

Wouldn't that be something, if Taako made an immediate nuisance of himself, lost Brad's good graces, and got fired his first day. Please. Because, looking at the elf in his layers of garish, draping blouses and _cardigans_—chiffon, probably in deference to the roasting heat outside, but no more appropriate for a chef—and jewelry? _Dangling_ every which way about his neck and wrists? Nothing about him even approached professionalism. He was all flash.

Two Sundays ago, when Brad called Kravitz in for their ill-fated attempt at cooking, he had removed every accessory from his person and rolled his (simple, dress-shirt) sleeves up to his elbows. He'd still just narrowly avoided staining his shirt with tomato relish. He'd gotten pimento cheese in his arm hair.

Then Brad had tossed macaroni salad directly onto his slacks. The slimy noodles left trails of mayonnaise from his crotch to the insides of his ankles. Kravitz had watched the counter for an hour so Brad could go home and change.

Taako did not look prepared for similar catastrophe. He did not look anything like Kravitz's mental picture of a chef. Taako looked like—a debutante, or a two-bit fortune teller. Like he should be swanning around on a boardwalk with a parasol. Or lounging on a plush windowseat overlooking a lawn festooned with ornamental topiary.

Kravitz would never have advised Brad to hire this elf. He was supposed to be included in these decisions! Why had Brad gone ahead and filled the position without warning? Kravitz hadn’t even known he was conducting interviews!

"Kravitz, Taako," Brad continued placidly.

Kravitz let his lips curl into a smile. He could happily anticipate seeing Taako ruin all his pretty clothes before he had to shake his head and tell Brad, sadly, that it just wasn’t working out. “Charmed,” he said, stowing the mess of cords tethered to his phone and extending a hand.

“Yeah, cool,” Taako answered, giving the proffered hand a disinterested shake. “Hey, listen, boss man, you and me are gonna have to talk _supplies_, you’ve got the bare bones stuff but you’re missing some things that’ll really help with, y’know, scale and efficiency.”  
Kravitz wiped his hand on his jeans. He had no reason to think Taako was dirty—in all honesty, he smelled appealingly of shampoo and fresh laundry—but better safe than sorry. He watched as Taako’s gaze combed the shop until he lit on the new display case. “Excellent,” Taako declared, “I’ll get started on fillin’ that puppy up with good stuff.” _And try to hunt down this orc dude’s name—probably on the paperwork._

_"Actually,"_ Kravitz coughed, "I need to use the kitchen. The routine is to fill the displays back up in the morning. Lay out some new sausage, as it were. So, if you wouldn't mind—"

"That's quite alright, Kravitz." How could Brad continue smiling so warmly? His tusks were going to fall out. "I've already discussed this with Taako; he'll be assuming mastery of the kitchen, and all associated duties." 

"Ah," Kravitz said intelligently. "I suppose I'll, well, see to..."

"Sweeping, perhaps?" Brad suggested. "Good man. Moving furniture around kicked up quite a lot of dust."

Kravitz looked askance at Taako, expecting to catch him zoned out and picking his fingernails.

Taako waved back lazily. “Yeah, hey, don’t sweat it, got it covered. You do you out here, I got the kitchen handled.”

He gave Kravitz a once over. Good looking dude, honestly, pretty obviously dressed for work right now. Big ol’ bag, and that mess of cords he’d shoved back in it looked like an entire Radio Shack clearance sale. Time for a new phone, my dude.

Brad clapped his hands. “Wonderful. I’ll finish hooking up the case here and leave you to your cooking. Anything you need, please feel free to text me.”

Taako smiled at Kravitz. “Have fun sweepin’, my man,” he said, then sauntered back to the kitchen.

Kravitz took a deep breath through his nose and counted down from ten. Then from two hundred as he dragged a broom and dustpan around the shop while Brad hooked up the deli case, whistling to himself.

Brad made cheerful smalltalk. Kravitz bit back his tongue on everything he wanted to say, chiefly, 'I didn't know you were serious about hiring a chef. Why now. Why _Taako_, who reeks of arrogance and laziness. Indolence. _Impudence.'_

Eventually, Brad finished arranging the deli case and poking at the bulletin board. Kravitz viciously hoped he would catch Taako slacking off and dove for his phone as soon as Brad stepped through the kitchen door.

Taako looked up as Brad entered the kitchen. A neat pile of diced bell peppers had begun to form on the cutting board in front of him. He set his knife down. “I’ve got the case all set up now; there’s a thermometer installed for safety’s sake. Anything else you’ll need today? I’m about to head back to my office,” Brad said.

“Not a thing for now, I’ll let you know what comes up. You want me to leave a list or text you stuff?” Taako asked.

“Text is fine, my number is in the onboarding paperwork. Good to have you working here.” Dude sure could smile; his expression hadn’t wavered the whole morning.

“Alright, cool, better scram if you don’t wanna cry from the onions, they’re up next,” Taako advised brusquely.

Kravitz nodded as Brad passed back through the storefront, holding his phone out of sight under the counter until Brad climbed into his car outside. 10% battery. He left all the cords in and held the power button down, praying, as he slung his bag onto the shelf under the register.

After a few short minutes, his phone finished spluttering to life. He closed down most of the apps that had booted and scrolled through his notifications until he found the only one he cared about.

Fantasy Grindr, version "bootleg archaic". He’d had to download it from a third-party site and disable updates in settings. Kravitz also had his GPS and all location services disabled, because they tended to crash his phone. If he waited, he could get pictures to load, but wasn’t going to bother. One message was waiting for him from his favorite person.

**Sorry,** he hurriedly typed, **I accidentally let my phone die. How has your morning been?**

In the kitchen, Taako felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He shrugged off his plastic glove, then pulled it out and poked at the Fantasy Grindr notification.

Taako grinned, typing back quickly. ** It’s good, gonna make some quiche I think. Whatcha up to, hot stuff?**

Kravitz waved a frazzled good-bye as Brad pulled out of his parking space. Only ten minutes to open left, and he hadn't gotten _any_ reading done for class. He booted up the old Dell computer next to the register while he typed. **It's nice that you have time in the mornings to make quiche. I'm supposed to be reading a handout from my Uplifting The Cycle Through Music class.**

He paused to finally set up the register, having taken something like two minutes to painstakingly capitalize the full name of his course. He was definitely showing off, but he had precious little to be proud of outside his studies. He made a point of not talking to _T_sizzle_ about the mundanities of work; that wasn’t how he wanted to define himself.

And he wasn't going to give into the temptation of venting about Taako. No matter how much abhorrent banging his efforts were generating in the kitchen. The oven hinges shrieked and a muscle jumped at the corner of Kravitz’s eye. "Can you make an effort to quiet that down before we have customers?" he shouted.

**Or else look over the sheets of Saint-Saëns's “L’Assassinat du Duc de Guise”, for Composing for New Media IV,** he finished, painstakingly copying the _ë_ from Wikipedia.

His screenname was _Trautonium_Corvid_ and he’d been talking to _T_sizzle_ for almost nine months, since his disastrous fall semester last year. The man already knew he was a music nerd.

Taako took his time to slide the quiche into the oven before yelling back to Kravitz, so he could punctuate his words with another colossal shriek from the hinges. “What I do is _art,_ come back to me when _you_ can do it. These pastries ain’t gonna make themselves!” 

Kravitz suppressed the desire to strangle Taako. He didn't know the first thing about _art._ "I understand why you'd feel _intellectually stimulated_ by your...dabblings in dough, so let me put this in small words: Customers are unhappy when shrieking noises happen. I know full well there's a can of WD-40 somewhere in that pantry, can you not attend to the oven?"

Yeah, Taako wasn’t in a hurry to dignify that with a response. Not with his phone buzzing against the counter with news from his favorite person. _“Idiot,”_ he added under his breath as he picked it up.

He smiled at the new message. No idea what TC was talking about, but this dude cared enough about it to get that ë in there. Nerdy, but passionate.

**Sounds advanced, fuck you’re a smart one** (Smiling Face With Sunglasses ) he sent back. He pulled out a large bowl to get started on the pastry dough.

_“Moron,”_ Kravitz voiced under his breath, thoroughly disgruntled that Taako was ignoring him. He turned back to his phone. T_sizzle's message had him grinning wide. It was accompanied by the (White Medium Square ) emoji that made frequent appearances. Kravitz had never said a word about the boxes, unwilling to disclose exactly what kind of junk his phone was.

Single empty box emojis were usually incidental. It was when T_sizzle sent him five or more in a row that things would quickly become...interesting. It’s a shame that he couldn’t know what kind of mood T_sizzle would be in today, or else he might have something to look forward to. The shop was relatively quiet in the mornings; after his initial duties, he’d have little to occupy himself with other than hunching in his place on the stool and waiting for customers.

Meanwhile, Taako busily set about measuring ingredients for the pastry dough. These wouldn’t be ready for a while, what with rising, but he didn’t dare accelerate the process with magic. Not without a license. Apparently, that shit’ll come back to bite your ass. Apparently that can be just what some asshole needs to fuck your entire career—

Nope. Not today. Today was for getting this kitchen rolling, starting fresh, getting some godsdamned pastries into some hungry mouths and making them love him. And, obviously, flirting with Trautonium_Corvid.

Taako didn’t know what he looked like; he said he preferred not to send selfies. That was fine, Taako’d been a bit on the DL ever since The Incident.

He rummaged in the pantry for the WD-40. He couldn’t just hit a hot oven full of food with the stuff, so Kravitz-the-asshole was gonna have to deal with the squeaking.

Kravitz flipped the sign to open, confirmed that Brad hadn’t locked the door on his way out for whatever reason, and poked his head into the kitchen to make sure Taako was busy. He tried to ratchet his glare down from ‘furious’ to ‘neutral’.

Taako met his gaze and judged it pissy. _That’s his problem,_ Taako thought dismissively. “Out,” he ordered. “You handle your shit, I’ll handle mine, I don’t need you barging in here puttin’ your grubby hands everywhere.” Can’t take a hint, apparently, this guy was already shaping up to be a _pill._

Satisfied to see Taako elbow-deep in the pantry, Kravitz scanned the kitchen. The oven was pre-heating, probably, and a bowl of dough was...rising? on the counter. “Not to worry, I won’t be touching your...efforts. I’m just after sausage. Remember? We’re running low on cheese wedges, too. I really do need to restock those cases; I’m sure Brad explained everything in your _onboarding.”_

Taako huffed. “Fine. Get in, get out.” Good, solid boundaries. It was rapidly becoming apparent that working with this guy was gonna be hell. Easy on the eyes, sure, but hell. He turned back to the counter and reached for a clean knife, throwing a towel over his shoulder. Sandwiches didn’t make themselves, either, and he had told Brad he’d do sandwiches. It was time to pointedly ignore Kravitz and wait for his phone to buzz again.

"No," Kravitz said, waiting with crossed arms until Taako made it clear he was blowing Kravitz off. "All the cheese and charcuterie for the cases have to be taken out of the walk-in, unwrapped, and sliced for display. This was supposed to be done thirty minutes ago, and you're in here doing what, _pastry?"_

He intoned 'pastry' the way most people would say 'ebola'. He actually liked pastry, but Taako needn't know that. He also needn't know that Kravitz had previously sliced a great deal of the charcuterie and cheese for display. Let him assume that Kravitz's demand was as difficult as possible. Kravitz needed the assurance that Taako would comply anyway, if they were going to work together. If Taako refused to recognize that he was not a cashier, but rather the man responsible for keeping the store running day-to-day, then training would be impossible.

"Brad hired you for _all_ kitchen duties. 'Taako; he'll be assuming mastery of the kitchen'—his words, not mine. The walk-in and all its contents are part of the kitchen. Ergo, they're _your_ responsibility." He leveled an acidic smile at Taako as he wound his rant down. “I’ll upload pictures of what the case should look like to the group chat. I must assume Brad added you, yes?”

Taako turned back towards Kravitz. What the _fuck?_ What the actual, everloving _fuck_ was with this guy? He set the knife down and clapped his hands together, bringing his steepled fingers up to his mouth. What he wouldn’t give to wipe that smile off Kravitz’s face himself.

“Wow. For someone who likes little words so much, ‘mastery’ is sure a big one. Lemme help you out. It means that in _this_ kitchen,” he gestured to encompass the room, “I call the shots. _I_ make the menu, and you either follow directions or you _scram_. I happen to know all that shit is prepped; I’ve got eyes, my dude. You can make yourself useful and bring it out, or you can go back to the front and stay out of my kitchen, _comprende?”_

Taako stared Kravitz down. Don’t look away. Best to establish this shit on day one. He was not about to fall in line behind Cashier Boy and his inflated title. No fucking way.

Kravitz's smile froze on his face. "Let me make something very clear. _Your kitchen,_ as an effort, is approximately one hour old. I've been managing Brad's store for _years_. This—" Kravitz waved his hand over the counter and oven, all the ingredients Taako had been preparing. _"This_ is an experiment. Our bestsellers have always been imported alcohol: beer, liquor, wine. That's my purview."

Kravitz shrugged off Taako's stare, turning away to put one hand on the door. "I'll stay out of 'your' kitchen. Bring out everything for the cases and I'll stock them myself. You wouldn't want me underfoot while you're getting your bearings, I'm sure. Brad's counting on you to prove that we can turn a profit with prepared foods. If not, well—I'd hate to disappoint him, when _I_ prepare the sales report. But needs must."

"Ah, one last thing," Kravitz said, stepping over the threshold. "I really do hope you're in that group chat, because you will need my number. Brad doesn't handle ordering stock. I do. So, if you wait on him to forward your requests to me, you'll suffer the lag of his eight-hour workday."

Kravitz let it go unsaid that he was prepared to oppose Taako on any requests for ingredients that he deemed unreasonable. Looking forward to it, even.


	2. Dirty Little Secret/who has to know?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> T_sizzle and Trautonium_Corvid sext on the clock while Taako antagonizes Kravitz as payback for having a stick up his ass.
> 
> Carey, the only valid person in this chapter, enjoys a sandwich.

“Cool, good talk” Taako mumbled as the door closed behind Kravitz. _Jerk._

He pulled the charcuterie and cheese trays out and looked them over. Much as he hated to admit it, they were quality work. Evenly sliced. Neatly prepared. Maybe Kravitz was no good at cooking, but he’d make a decent sous chef with a little guidance. Not that Taako wanted to take on that project, but quality work should be acknowledged. 

Taako carried the trays out to the front, set them down wordlessly, and headed back to pull his quiche from the oven. He left it to cool on a rack and picked up his phone.

**Ugh, sorry, got distracted. Had to deal with a thing. How’s the studying coming, sexy?** (Face Throwing A Kiss ) Send. He grinned. Maybe a distraction from such a rough start would help.

Behind the counter, Kravitz finished arranging what Taako had brought him. It would do, for a stopgap, but they were running low on several things. Kravitz scrolled through his gallery until he found old pictures of the cases fully-stocked and sent them to the group chat.

His phone slowed to a glacial pace. He cursed when a notification for Grindr dinged. Taako had taken up so much of his attention that he'd forgotten to reply to T_sizzle. Now he had to wait for the pictures to upload before he could switch apps without his phone crashing.

**Good morning to everyone** he typed into the SMS window. **Taako, 1.75 lbs of the cured spicy sopressata, please. And one of the ciauscolo, and four wedges of La Tur. Let me know if you need me to show you where the wrap station is. Thank you.**

He continued typing, listing off all the charcuterie and cheeses that needed to be refreshed. It really wasn't much; Monday was their slowest day. There weren't even any outstanding orders for delivery. As he typed, the pictures he sent inserted themselves into his messages at intervals. Oh well, if Taako was confused he could come out of the kitchen and take a look with his own eyeballs.

Finally satisfied, he closed the SMS app and, with a furtive glance cast between the front door and the kitchen, risked switching to Grindr as the last picture finished uploading.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
Hey, handsome. I can't say I've had a chance to study yet. I've been thoroughly distracted as well, my apologies. I haven't even had a chance to deliver a well-deserved compliment to you this morning. Making a quiche sounds complex. I'm impressed.   
  
Since I’m distracted anyway, I wanted to ask if you happened to be free from your thing. If, maybe, we could pick up where we left off last night. I regret that I am but a mere mortal, beholden to inequities like sleep, because I’ve spent the morning thinking on how much I’d rather have spent that time with you. ;-)  
  


Taako cursed as his phone started buzzing nonstop right as he was in the middle of drafting a reply to Trautonium_Corvid. He switched apps to see picture after picture, seemingly at random, coming through to the group chat along with demands for various items.

He paused. Brad was in this chat. He, Taako, had an image to uphold. He’d sold himself in the interview as being a team player, and it was quickly becoming apparent that Kravitz was _not._ **Absolutely, I’ll have those right out to you. Thanks!**

There. Now Brad would see an enthusiastic new employee keeping up with a string of nonsense from Kravitz. He switched back to Grindr. **One of these days I’ll make you all the quiche you want, baby. I’m all yours (Winking Face )** he typed. And now Trautonium_Corvid would continue his dirty little train of thought. Thank fuck. Taako pocketed the phone and started pulling out the sausage Kravitz asked for.

A customer came in and forced Kravitz to spend a few minutes actually doing his job, silently tapping his fingers against the counter with a tight smile while the halfling took _forever_ to select just two bottles of hard cider. He rang them up and dove for his phone the second the door swung shut behind her, dismissing Taako’s message and reopening Grindr to type out a quick reply.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
I promise I'm not just enamored of your cooking. There are multitudinous facets of your personality that I find myself quite taken by. For one, I find your style quite charming.  
  


Kravitz grinned down at his phone. Honestly, he had next to no idea what T_sizzle looked like. In his profile picture, his face was covered by a cartoon pair of outsize, glittery sunglasses, and his body was obscured by garish graphics that Kravitz thought of as "selfie bling". Anonymity through audacity. A postmodern, avant-garde rendition of a self-portrait, embracing the camp aesthetic with avidity that could challenge Cher. Kravitz loved it.

Kravitz had not seen many selfies.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
So long as you’re all mine... Might I ask how you occupied yourself, after we were so unfortunately interrupted by the toll of midnight? I know that it was all I could do to still my racing thoughts and allow sleep to take me, when I’d much rather be with you.  
  


Taako finished up the sausage and added the La Tur to the tray. He picked up his phone. **Heads up, we’re running low on La Tur**, he texted to the group chat.

He switched back to Grindr and stifled a snort-laugh combo. TC was such an endearing nerd. Absolutely charming. **Well, I should think a smart guy like you could guess. What with how hot you got me, you know I was dreaming up all kinds of stuff to do with you. Can’t wait to get my hands on you, stud** (Winking Face )

TC could flirt in poetic circles forever, just really give that bush a thorough beating, but Taako’s style? Slightly more direct. He hit send, then picked up the tray and headed out to the front, ignoring whatever the fuck Kravitz was doing as he walked in. Why should he care? 

“Sausage is ready,” he said bluntly. Kravitz jumped a foot in the air. The cord tethering his phone kept it from flying off. Taako set the tray down, then turned on his heel and walked straight back into the kitchen.

Flustered, Kravitz called out "Thanks!" and then turned his attention back to T_sizzle.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
Dreaming up new exploits? Can I trouble you for some details?   
  
You know I’m eager to be fully at your disposal, love.   
  


Taako gently prodded the top of the quiche to check whether it had cooled enough to set. His phone buzzed. _Oh-ho,_ TC wanted details. Taako could handle that. **Well** he typed. Send. Draw it out slow. **I know you work super hard, you must be so tense.** Send. Wait. Type gibberish, delete it, get those dots flashing.

I’d start with a sexy massage. You like sandalwood? I’ve got some nice massage oil  
  


Send. Wait.

Really get my hands all over that beautiful bod.  
  


Kravitz shivered, reading his phone in one hand while working sausage with the other. Not the sausage he wanted to be working. **I'd love that**, he typed, prodding the display case into shape.

I'd stretch out on your bed in front of you, on my stomach. Let you touch me wherever you want.   
  


He bit his lip.

And where would that be?   
  


Taako waited. Give him a minute, make it slow. He typed more gibberish, deleted it. **I’d start at the shoulders, work my way down slow. Bet you’ve got incredible shoulders with all that practice.** He hit send. Cocked his head to the side and added **I’d take my time, you fucking deserve it.**

Kravitz watched T_sizzle's flashing cursor with his heart in his throat. **That sounds amazing. I desperately want to feel your hands on me.**

And he didn't even mean it in an entirely horny way. His back was a mess of knots from bending over counters and desks, studying and practicing late into the night. His fingers and palms were deeply calloused, skin rough no matter how many products he used. Maybe if he could afford dermatologist-recommended moisturizer...

That was why he'd wanted to run the kitchen, if Brad was opening a sandwich counter or whatever it was that Taako did now. That would've moved his shift earlier, giving him enough time before his afternoon classes to use the practice rooms then instead of having to wait till late evening. After-hours access came at a premium, and there were no afternoon slots left to be had.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
You deserve something nice too. Tell me what I can do for you.   
  
Please.   
  


Taako hesitated. He’d been sending all sorts of filth to this guy for a while. **You could kiss me** he typed. Fuck. No. Delete.

**You can moan for me nice and loud while I tease you.** Better. Send.

Taako turned his attention back to his work. He opened the oven again, no reason, just to piss off Kravitz.

It worked. Kravitz, totally absorbed in the image of his back (and everything else) bare under T_sizzle's hands, winced at the shriek of oven hinges. He spent a minute moving stock around on the shelves while he recovered. He needed to think horny thoughts, dammit. He would not let Taako ruin his fantasies.

Sitting back down heavily, he bit his lip and typed, **I want to feel your hands on me, everywhere. I want to touch you too. I have no idea what you look like, but I know I’ll find you beautiful, with how clever you’ve proven yourself to be. Let me moan for you … unless I could trouble you to occupy my mouth with something else?**

Taako closed the oven door again. He checked the pastry dough—oh, perfect, looking good—spent another couple of minutes readying sandwich ingredients, and felt his phone buzz again. He grinned at TC’s suggestion. Oh, _deffo._ Yeah, this boy was full of good ideas. **Well, you’ll be all relaxed on my bed afterward, it’d be a shame to make you move. I’d just tilt your head back and slide my cock right between your lips.**

Good, that took him solidly back into ‘sexy’, well away from ‘feelings’. Although…‘feelings’ was starting to be a place that held some promise, where Trautonium_Corvid was concerned.

Probably best to keep it dirty for the moment, though. He did have work to do. “Is it the L-word?” wasn’t great self-examination to run on the first day of a new gig.

He went back to the sandwiches. He should see about baking bread, fresh in-house. That would _rule._

Listening vaguely to the noise Taako was making in the kitchen, Kravitz mechanically clicked through inventory at the counter. He double-checked things that didn't need checked, imagining the weight of a cock on his tongue.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
I want to feel that. I want to swallow you down. You'd taste wonderful, I know it. Let me make you feel good as good as you make me.   
  
Can you come like that? If I grip your thighs and pull you deeper, into my throat?   
  
Or...would you rather draw things out?   
  


Taako surveyed his work. Look, anyone who doesn’t like this sandwich? They’re not valid, full stop. He set it neatly on a plate. This one for the case, the rest assembled to order. Perfect.

His phone buzzed. Trautonium_Corvid was replying quick today, and could Taako blame him? Absolutely not. Anyone would, and if they weren’t interested? They’re not valid, either. He, Taako, the one and only, was a fucking catch.

Oh, I *could* come that way, if I want.  
  
Or.  
  
I could fuck your face and feel you moan around me.  
  
Then pull out  
  
And make you ask for what you want like a good boy  
  


That ought to do it. Taako slid the phone back into his pocket. Sides, hmmm. Brad had told him about The Macaroni Incident. Time to show these fools some good macaroni salad.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
Yes. I want you, love. I want you to have me. I want to taste you on my lips while you pin me down. I want to feel you hard against my thigh.   
  


The bell above the door jingled and Kravitz dropped his phone before he could finish typing a second message about exactly how he wanted to be had. The cord caught, sending it bonking off his knee to swing pendulously around his ankles. He hurriedly adjusted his jeans and willed himself to regain composure. His phone click-clacked softly against the counter.

"'Sup," said Carey, wandering in. She was in her standard weekday morning yoga pants and toting a bottle of Fantasy Gatorade the length of her forearm.

"Good morning," Kravitz said. "Ah—it is _morning._ What are you...doing here?"

Carey took a long swig of her drink. "Kills couldn't make lunch cos of some work thing, and I saw your spam in the group chat and remembered our new chef. Figured I could introduce myself before my shift. And, you know, if there's any food to be had—two birds, one stone!"

Kravitz sighed, deeply annoyed. She had no idea what she was interrupting and, frankly, he preferred it that way, but would it kill the universe to throw him a bone? Just one, please, because he cared for little else right now aside from imagining, well, himself, boned.

"What's got you smiling, anyway?" Carey said. "Is the new guy hot?"

Kravitz spluttered. “He— No!— He’s—just fine.”

In the kitchen, Taako ignored the muffled conversation coming from the front—probably just a customer finally making Kravitz do work—and picked up his phone.

Good. Maybe I’ll let you. Maybe soon. Making me hard thinking about it, baby (Smirking Face )   
  


Taako took his time putting bangles back on—gotta leave those in a bowl when cooking, for sanitation’s sake—plated the sandwich, and walked out to the shop floor. Kravitz was talking with a dragonborn woman. He plastered a smile onto his face. May as well make all the customers love him, get this shit off to a good start. “Mornin’, feeling hungry? I’ve got a nice fresh muffuletta here, might actually be the best sandwich in existence.”

Carey fixed him with a delighted crocodile grin. “You must be the new chef! I’m Carey, I work afternoons.” She stepped forward to shake hands.

Taako set the sandwich down on top of the case and accepted the handshake. “Oh yeah, Brad said there was someone, cool. Name’s Taako.”

Carey cut her eyes over to Kravitz. He knew that look. He _knew_ she assumed he found Taako attractive, dangling jewelry and all. Damn her for knowing his type. Maybe if he’d met Taako outside of work, but as it was, he was determined to not like him. 

“Cool, look forward to working with ya,” Carey answered. _She_ probably liked Taako, with him bringing out food as if on cue. Everyone loved free sandwiches, lesbians included. "Soooo I'm not a paying customer, but can I still have that?" Her fixation on the sandwich was absolutely predatory. "What's a muffuletta?"

“A good choice,” Kravitz admitted, trying to mask his grudging tone. Taako hadn’t brought _him_ any food. “Feel free to use as much of the mortadella as you like, Taako; it hasn’t been selling quickly enough.”

“You got it. Cool meetin’ you, Carey, I gotta go check on my dough,” Taako said. He turned and walked back to the kitchen, leaving the sandwich.

Carey looked like she could do a triathlon without notice, probably. Not Taako’s thing, but alright. He cleared some space and wiped it down while listening to the low hum of Carey and Kravitz’s chatter. She seemed like she’d be nice to work with.

He started to roll out the pastry dough. With this recipe, they should be quick, get something ready to sell, but next time? Proper croissants. They’d take ages, but worth it? Yes. Every fucking _second_.

Taako idly wondered what Trautonium_Corvid was up to. He hadn’t heard back in a few minutes. Dude probably blew his load and passed out asleep after Taako snickered. Awww. Cute.

Carey parked herself at the counter and devoured her sandwich while Kravitz bent down to finally retrieve his phone. "This is _so fucking good,"_ she said, between enthusiastic snaps of her teeth. Little bits of olive salad fell from her maw. Kravitz had no doubt she'd be talking to him with her mouth full, if she had cheeks to retain the food.

"Really?" Kravitz asked. "I mean, I'm glad that—Taako's efforts are going well. That the...quality is excellent."

"Is it _ever."_ Carey's eyes were dreamy with bliss. She washed her sandwich down with another swig of Gatorade. "Hey, what's that face mean? Whatcha doing on your phone?"

"Nothing!" Kravitz turned his screen off and slid it, and its accompanying mess of cords, into his bag. T_sizzle's last message was burned into his retinas. Hopefully the man hadn't noticed that he started typing without sending anything. He swallowed dryly and tried to school his expression back to something neutral.

Carey was far too good at reading people. "You should break for lunch too, then. C'mon, I'll watch the counter,” she insisted.

"That's—you're hours early," Kravitz said, somewhat desperate. "You don't have to—"

"Naw, it's fine." Carey gave him a shit-eating grin. "What's got your panties twisted, seriously? I know you handle disruptions to your precious routine about as well as, like, fusty grandpas, but we're finally making use of that kitchen! We're gonna get hot meals at work!"

"The _kitchen."_ Kravitz snapped his fingers. Carey raised one scaly brow. "I mean—you haven't gotten to see it yet. You should take a look at the marvelous things Taako's surely whipping up in there."

"You mean I should leave you up here at the counter and bug Taako instead, so you can go back to making eyes at your phone."

“...Please?”

Carey smirked. “Okay then. I’ll go to the kitchen, leave you _alone,_ no one watching you, bye now, I’m gone,” she teased, backing toward the kitchen door with a wink. 

She turned to find Taako carefully shaping pastries. “Hey, Carey, how’s that sandwich? Good, right?”

“It was amazing, definitely something to keep on the menu,” Carey answered. “You settling in okay? I’m only here in the afternoons, I teach yoga in the mornings, so I’m not sure about opening up. But if you need tips on anything else, I got you.”

Taako snapped his fingers. “Wait a minute, is Magnus in your class? Big dude, looks like he’d tear someone’s arms off if they try to fuck you up.”

“Yeah! Love that guy!” Carey grinned. “He comes in here when I’m on-shift sometimes, lots of cool stuff to munch on. I’ve seen him eat raw fettucini.”

Taako smiled as he walked over to the oven, empty-handed. “_Bluh,_ yeah, that tracks. I saw that cool jam he bought me last Candlenights on the shelf. Hang on.” He opened the oven door slowly, drawing out the horrific shrieking noise before slamming it shut. Carey gave him a baffled look. “Gotta balance...y’know, humidity, it’s a technique,” he mumbled dismissively. “Well, cool, I’d better get these ready to bake.” Suck on _that,_ Kravitz.

By 'maybe soon', can I ask ward  
  


At the shriek of the oven door, Kravitz's fingers jumped across the keys and he accidentally hit send. He was going to kill Taako.

Sorry, autocorrect  
  


Kravitz's heart thundered in his chest. He bent over his phone, twisting his fingers in the charging cord. T_sizzle wanted to hook up? He knew they lived in the same part of the city—in Kravitz's earliest days on Grindr, before he figured out that he could turn his GPS off to stop his phone from crashing, T_sizzle had confirmed as much.

What would a hook-up mean? Just sex? He barely knew anything about T_sizzle's personal life. He couldn't imagine what dating him would be like. He couldn't imagine _not_ wanting to date him.

Thinking of hands on him, of a body pressed against his, was one thing. It sent a thrill through his core. But every single message from T_sizzle, even inane links to Fantasy Buzzfeed articles that he didn't understand, was the highlight of his day. He didn't want to risk giving that up for—for an affair gone sour.

He wanted more from T_sizzle than the comfortable pattern of lascivious, clandestine messages. He wanted to feel like he had someone to share his day with. He wanted to hear the man laugh, not just read “LOL” on his screen.

I didn't mean to ghost you after that last message. I was  
  


The kitchen door swung open behind him. "Hey Krav!" Carey said. "I got kicked out of the kitchen on account of pastry time, what's up with you?"

I didn't mean to ghost you after that last message. I was  
  
Interrupted  
  


Kravitz threw his phone into his bag before Carey could see what he was looking at. She slid up beside him and hopped onto his stool. He shuffled closer to the register so he wouldn't loom quite so much. For a dragonborn, Carey was tiny, and sitting on the stool left her level with his stomach when he stood to his full height. "It's, well, it's been a slow morning. So, nothing much,” he said.

Carey nodded and rested the side of her head against his arm. Kravitz stiffened. He wasn't used to casual contact, though Carey was one of the most frequent initiators in his life. "You okay with school? I see you've got an assload of papers stuffed in your bag, and you've been a bundle of nerves all morning. Big test coming up?"

“Oh, no, I—” Kravitz smoothed his free hand back through his locs. “I do not, the semester’s only just begun. Actually, to change the topic entirely—total non sequitur, can’t even say what brought it to mind—may I ask how you and Killian got together?”

"I swear I've told you this before," Carey said, bopping him on the shoulder. "Like, it's not even really a story. We have martial arts on the weekends together. So we started getting brunch every Saturday. And then I found out she came to my marathons for her news gig, and I was like, 'hey, another excuse to hang out with this beautiful woman!' And apparently she thought the same. We were always looking for excuses to hang out, and one night we made it cocktails at a bar in the evening instead of yoga at the gym in the morning."

"And you fell into bed immediately afterwards, hmm?"

"Well, can you blame me?" Carey laughed and leaned away, meeting Kravitz's gaze with sparkling eyes. "Have you seen her biceps? They're great biceps. And her abs. And her thighs—she could crush my skull between her thighs and I would thank her."

"That's—really nice for you," Kravitz said, looking away. "Seems—serendipitous. To fall in love with someone who could be in your life so easily."

"I mean, I made the effort to have my life open, Kravcakes. I put myself out there. Killian and I had about a billion lunches and stuff together before we finally _dated_-dated, you know. Honestly, I'm really glad that Taako's working here now."

Kravitz reared up, affronted, and shot her a confused look. How had the conversation gotten back around to Taako for reasons other than his infernal, persistent oven-slamming?

Carey quirked her brow and continued in small words. “So you’re not alone in the shop all morning, goober. Food aside. Though I saw Brad’s pics of your attempts at cooking, how the fuck are you alive?”

Back in the kitchen, Taako’s hands moved around the pastry dough. Practiced. Even. This right here? Comforting, actually, pastry was one of the first things he’d ever done in the kitchen that really gave him a sense that this was _his thing,_ the skill that set him apart. Defined him, really: Taako, chef.

No one, absolutely no one, could fuck that up for him, not idiot exes, not administrative committees, and absolutely fucking no way in hell _Kravitz._

His phone had buzzed several times in a row, but Taako took a minute to finish the pastries and admire them. He damn well should be proud. He slid them into the oven—another screech for the aural delight of one Kravitz, asshole extraordinaire—washed his hands, and checked his phone.

Awww. Looks like Trautonium_Corvid was flustered. Adorable.

No worries, had my hands full for a minute there (Winking Face ) wish I had ‘em on you, but life’s tragic(Face Throwing A Kiss )  


Yeah, there we go. Back in it.

Taako set some water to boil for the macaroni salad and thoughtfully assembled another sandwich for the display case.

Trautonium_Corvid hadn’t replied yet. It had only been a couple of minutes, though. No big deal. But.

But Taako liked it better when he was texting Trautonium_Corvid than when he wasn’t.

Ahh, fuck, maybe this line of thought would turn out to be a _thing_ today after all.

Actually, fuck it, it wouldn’t, because Taako was _busy._ He had shit to do today. So.

So, the plan: Make this sandwich. Check.

Ignore Kravitz. Check.

Talk to Carey a bit. Check.

Wish every moment that he was feeling his phone buzz, and the moments he did? Savor. Check.

Taako walked out of the kitchen door, a sandwich in his hand and a smile on his face.

"Oh, hey Taako," Carey said. "Did you have a plan for that sandwich?"

Kravitz tried to lean over her for a better look. Not that he thought Taako would offer food to _him._ Still, he couldn’t resist assessing whether it was something tasty. All he’d had for breakfast was burnt toast with peanut butter, and that was hours ago. “What’s in that one?”

“I put this one together for the display,” Taako answered. “It’s just another muffuletta, y’know, cold cuts, olive salad. That’s very good mortadella, I’m surprised you said it’s not selling.”

“Kravitz, you gotta try this!” Carey urged. “I mean, if that’s cool with you, Taako. I’ll clock in and watch the front. Krav, you can knock off early.”

Taako considered this, but only for a second. He was proud of his work, and maybe this would be a point in his favor. Hard to argue with _quality,_ and if it got Kravitz out of his grill? Perfect. Who knew, maybe the guy was just hangry from the jump and that was why he’d been such a dick.

“Yeah, you want this one? It’s no sweat, I can make as many as we need. I’ve gotta pop back and get the pasta rolling in a minute, but here.” He gave Kravitz a smile with a touch too many teeth and slid the sandwich across the counter.

Kravitz eyed it like a live grenade. The looked way too elaborate to sell, let alone eat for free. "If you're sure it's not too much trouble," he allowed.

He took a bite, formulating calculus as to whether Taako was wasting resources in the kitchen, whether he was _inclined_ to waste resources; concerns that he did not want to verbalize until his growling stomach was resolved.

And then his eyes widened. Flew open in shock, more like.

It was _fantastic._ By far the best sandwich he had ever had. Way better than his bagged lunches, or the premade sandwiches from Safeway or 76, or Subway, or even Fantasy Quiznos.

“This, this is good,” he mumbled, with maybe a little olive salad on his lip. “Too good. What would we price this at, for all the ingredients used?”

Taako was ready for this question, since Kravitz did the ordering. Alright. Be impressed. “I can make ‘em for ten, _mayyyyybe_ a little less if we bulk buy and bake the rolls fresh. We’d be underselling some other folks at fourteen, though. And that’s a sandwich for a big boy, y’know, filling.”

Carey snickered at the look on Kravitz’s face. “Would you, uh, like a moment alone with that sandwich, bud? I for-real will clock in and take over if you wanna just…_mmmmm.”_ She moaned exaggeratedly and mimed eating a sandwich.

"Yes, I think I shall make my escape, thank you," Kravitz said, arching an eyebrow at Carey. "Far be it from me to turn down such a generous offer. I do hope the mortadella sells better in sandwich form; I have some reservations about would be attractive to our clientele. We can't give every reluctant soul a free sandwich to win them over."

Carey tilted her head and scooted back on the stool to let him squeeze past, messenger bag bunched in his hands. "Krav, how about you pull the bestsellers list for Taako?"

"I can name each bottle off the top of my head."

"I didn't mean the alcohol, you doof. Like, the cheeses 'n stuff. Don't we sell a lot of frozen shrimp?"

Kravitz shuddered, then brightened. “Yes, I’m always restocking that—and I suppose it’s Taako’s job, now.” He never was a fan of the smell. Thank goodness they didn’t have a fresh fish counter, that would’ve been a nightmare. “I’ll forward what I last sent to Brad. Taako, put your email in the group chat for me?”

“Can do, my guy. I can use that to put together some other ideas to test. I told Brad it might take some experimenting to find what gets folks in the door, lucky him— He hired me.”

“I’ll have to make sure and spread the word a little, I did not know Brad meant there would food like _this._ Kinda thought he meant more basic,” Carey mused.

“You’re _welcome,”_ teased Taako. He’d like working with Carey, he thought. She was good people. Kravitz might have something permanently rustling his jimmies, but Carey seemed friendly and like she knew what she was doing. Magnus liked her too; he was always trying to get Taako to go to yoga with him, not that Taako would _ever._ Nothing held in a building labeled “fitness” sounded like a good leisure activity to him. 

“Well, I’ll be in the back, got macaroni salad to make. Taako, out,” he said, retreating to the kitchen. Once there, he pulled out his phone to look. Still no message.

Taako pushed back a pang of disappointment. Trautonium_Corvid had a life beyond entertaining Taako, obviously, no big deal. He just wasn’t responding for a few minutes after Taako strongly suggested wanting to meet in person. It was _fine._

Taako dumped the macaroni into the boiling water and started preparing the rest of the ingredients. Everything was fine.


	3. The Only Exception/worth the risk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako heads home to spill the tea about that Kravitz asshole to Lup, while surreptitiously planning a date with Trautonium_Corvid.

It was well after Carey shooed Kravitz out the door that he discovered his phone was dead _again._ The battery cord had come loose when he hastily shoved it into his bag.

After he stuffed the rest of the sandwich into his face at a crosswalk a few blocks from Far Corners, Kravitz worriedly knotted his bag strap as he waited for the light. What if T_sizzle thought he was being ghosted after hinting at the possibility of an in-person meeting? What if he thought Kravitz didn't want to meet him? _Did_ Kravitz want to meet him?

He didn't know how he felt. He didn't know what to do. There'd been too many surprises today, between T_sizzle and Taako. He was unmoored, _set adrift by vagaries,_ he thought gloomily to himself while he browsed the convenience store attached to the 76 for a cheap phone charger and cheaper coffee.

**Life is tragic**, he agreed later, ensconced in a booth at the student center with his reading spread out and his phone finally plugged into the wall. **I'm sorry I disappeared for so long. I made it to campus early, so I decided I may as well set up to get work done.**

He'd cycled the power on his phone three times, trying to get it to boot faster, but now that he was staring at a blinking cursor he wasn't sure what else to say. He couldn't risk his uncertainty scaring T_sizzle off.

.

Still at work, Taako finished up the macaroni salad with a final toss. That’s nice, _very_ nice. He bustled in and out of the kitchen, setting food out in the cases, arranging and rearranging. His phone buzzed. He gave it a minute. “So, how d’you like this place? Is it cool working here?” he asked Carey.

“Yeah,” she replied. “I like it a lot! Brad’s cool about makin’ sure everything’s going alright without hovering. Customers are chill, Kravitz generally gets everything rolling before I come in, so that’s good, and now we’ll hopefully have a bunch of folks coming in for lunch and stuff, that’ll be even better.”

“We oughta do some sorta launch, so folks’ll know,” Taako said, thinking out loud. “Y’know, a party or open house, maybe out front even.”

“That’d be cool! Bet Killian could get someone out to cover it in her paper,” Carey said.

Taako picked up the tray he’d been using. “Sounds swell. I’m gonna go back to the kitchen, let me know if you need more of stuff, kay?” 

As soon as he got back into the kitchen he checked his phone. Taako smiled. See, all good. Trautonium_Corvid worked so damn hard. He was _dedicated,_ was the thing. **Nice, you practicing? Bet you sound amazing** (Multiple Musical Notes ≊ Musical Notes) (Guitar ) he sent.

.

Kravitz set his pen down and smiled at his phone.

T_Sizzle  
  
Nice, you practicing? Bet you sound amazing (White Small Square )   
  
Not yet, though it would be convenient if I could get to campus at this hour every day. Unfortunately, I'm stuck waiting late for the practice rooms for the foreseeable future.   
  
I thought I might be able to reschedule my slot when an opportunity arose at work, but it slipped through my fingers.   
  


Hesitating, Kravitz hovered over his screen. T_sizzle had always seemed happy to be steered away from conversations about their personal lives. Kravitz had definitely been happy; he had a vested interest in presenting himself as someone who had his life together. Someone who didn't live in a shithole apartment, work at a glorified corner store, and drink gas station coffee regularly. He hadn't even confided that he'll be graduating late.

But now, with an in-person meeting in the realm of possibility—well, he needed to know more, if he was going to picture them together. **I don't know if I've ever asked what you do for work?**

.

Taako stared at the message. There were a few ways he could go with this. Trautonium_Corvid knew he could cook, but he _didn’t_ know that he was a freshly (tenuously?) hired sandwich maker. Because really, come on. That’s what this was, right? Far Corners was really just a store full of cool food and booze and maybe/hopefully a bit of a takeout deli situation, if it lasted. And TC _certainly_ didn’t know about The Debacle™️. Maybe best not to lead with “my classmate/wannabe-ex got me expelled from culinary school in disgrace,” right?

**I’m a head chef**, he sent back. Well? Fuck it, was there a _more senior chef_ in here? Nope.

.

Kravitz let out a low whistle and then glanced sheepishly around to see if he’d disturbed the other students. Head chef. Damn, was T_sizzle older than him? How many years of experience did you need to land that position?

He bit his lip and looked over the reading he was supposed to be doing, at least skimming the section headings while he formulated his reply.

**I would love to try your cooking someday.** There. Topical, to-the-point, and communicating his interest in a future meeting of some kind. Maybe he could… Well, he had his recital suit. He could dress up for a dinner out and meet T_sizzle at his restaurant. Or would that be weird, for a first date? **Do you like it? Where you work, I mean.**

.

Taako bit his lip and glanced at the door. Carey seemed content to let him sit back here and chat when he last saw her. Nice.

A hardworking man like you deserves my cooking, not to brag or anything (Winking Face )   
  
I like it. Lots of freedom to experiment, hit or miss with the staff, but overall it’s good. Between us, there’s one guy over here who thinks he’s way more important than he is (Face With Rolling Eyes )   
  
Cooking’s been my passion forever   
  


Yes, _good._ He hit send, pocketed the phone, and headed back to the front to check the shrimp levels.

Carey, lounging at the register, looked up from her phone with a grin. “Hey, Taako? Pitch that block party idea to Brad next time he’s in here. I think it’s a good one, bud.”

“Yeah, totally! I’m gonna,” Taako replied. He disappeared back into the kitchen. The shrimp was fine. Time to think of new stuff to cook.

.

Kravitz settled back in his chair and preened a little. He _was_ hardworking, thank you, and it was nice to be recognized. Brad appreciated him, of course, and Carey, and it wasn't that he was paid poorly—but he definitely had wine taste on a water budget. Plus, he was staring down years of mediocre wages and student loan payments, even if he got his legs under him and found a job that made good use of his degree.

A nice meal was the least of what he deserved. But just deserts—and desserts—could hardly be counted on, with the inconstancy of fate.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
You must work very hard yourself, as the head chef. I'm happy for you, that you get to do what you truly love. But I'm sorry one of your employees is that conceited. I hate people like that, dealing with them is a nuisance.   
  


Taako smiled down at his phone. He’d been smiling at his phone a _lot,_ lately, he realized. He typed a reply:

It’s hard work, but it’s satisfying, y’know? Like, I help make sure people eat, and they’ll always need to eat. As long as I’m around, no one’s got an empty stomach. It’s nice to feel needed. And that dude isn’t anything I can’t handle, just needs to stay in his lane (Face With Stuck-Out Tongue )   
  


He slipped his phone back in his pocket. He should stay focused, but also… also, he should seriously consider making a real move here? Even when Trautonium_Corvid’s messages weren’t horny, he looked forward to them, so probably in person it would be the same? If you like someone in and out of bed...why not, right? That’s a solid reason to get drinks, minimum.

Taako moved to start cleaning up some of the dishes and utensils he’d been using. He could hear Carey ringing up a customer. Maybe, if this worked out, with some stability, just maybe he could give it a shot.

.

Kravitz mooned over his phone for a spell. Then he remembered he had work to do. He read the entirety of the handout from his _Uplifting the Cycle_ course, on the establishment of the first choir dedicated to the Raven Queen's teachings, while he waited for his inbox to load.

Then he went to the water fountain. And re-tied his shoelaces. And thought about going to the library to use their computers, because his phone's lag was really getting ridiculous, and he was anxious about how late he was delivering the files Taako needed.

Someday he would be able to afford a new laptop, but that day was not today. In the end, he managed to secure Taako's address from the group chat and send off the spreadsheets from his professional email. He did not apologize for his tardiness. Taako would look gauche if he fussed, and Kravitz could smoothly apologize.

While he had his messaging app open, he scrolled up to what Brad had sent him about posting a listing for a chef after their joint misadventure in the kitchen. Kravitz hadn't taken him seriously at the time. He'd been in class when he received those messages, the link to the job posting hadn't loaded, and he'd summarily forgotten about the whole affair. He’d assumed it would be a problem for the distant future, not that Brad would give the position to the first person he interviewed, and without so much as a heads-up.

This time, the posting loaded abominably fast. Kravitz skimmed over the details, verifying that he understood what all Taako was supposed to be doing.

His eyes popped open on a particular number: Taako was being paid more than he was. Not considerably more, but comfortably more.

Damn him! Kravitz had known that the chef title would have meant a raise for him, but _that_ much? When Taako had assumed no other managerial duties? Fuming, he slammed his phone down on the table and wore his pencil to a nub, scribbling tight circles in his notebook while he tried to force himself to concentrate on sheet music. Brad was overpaying that—that _layabout_—to float around in the kitchen and fuss with sandwiches and jab at Kravitz for being a 'glorified cashier'? When he was the one who did the majority of the work, keeping the shop running day-to-day?

Eventually, he threw his pencil down and retreated to his most constant source of comfort.

T_sizzle  
  
It’s hard work, but it’s satisfying, y’know? Like, I help make sure people eat, and they’ll always need to eat. As long as I’m around, no one’s got an empty stomach. It’s nice to feel needed. And that dude isn’t anything I can’t handle, just needs to stay in his lane (White Medium Square )   
  
It is nice to feel needed, and appreciated for your hard work. I can only hope to be so lucky as to secure such a position in the future. I must admit to a certain degree of envy. Not directed at you, necessarily, I simply find my work unsatisfactory, of late. And I remain anxious about how I might find employment that makes use of my degree. I fear that I don't have much longer to decide on a course of action, but I find myself with precious few options to decide between.   
  


Taako looked over the information Kravitz had sent. He had to hand it to them, the clientele seemed like smart cookies; the best sellers were almost invariably very good. It would take some time to comb through this stuff and come up with something coherent, menu-wise. **Thank you, Kravitz, this’ll help**, Taako tapped into the group chat, mostly for Brad and Carey’s benefit.

He spent some time going over the lists, thinking of possibilities. Maybe signage, too, pointing out featured ingredients in different dishes? After a while, his phone buzzed again. He checked the time. Wow, it was later than he thought. (Slightly Frowning Face ) **That’s rough, you deserve recognition. You’re busting your ass! I’m sure you’ll find a good gig, you’re great!**

He got up. Time to finish cleaning so he could go home.

.

By the time Kravitz saw T_sizzle's reply, he was in class. He reread it several times as he waited for the clock to tick down. He dismissed the notification from Taako, not deigning to read past 'thanks'.

He didn't really know anyone in his classes, despite how tiny they were. What remained of his cohort, after transfers and dropouts, had all graduated in the spring. He was only being allowed to deliver his senior recital in the fall because his academic advisor went to bat for him.

Keeping track of his old friends—well, acquaintances—was nigh-impossible. Surely some of them had found jobs and would have advice he dearly needed. But he had neither their phone numbers nor the time to invest in social media. Most apps were impossibly frustrating when his phone had the computing power of a toaster.

But T_sizzle believed in him. And T_sizzle had always struck Kravitz as an intelligent, cautious man. Apparently he was a bona-fide full adult with a real job.

**It means a lot to hear that from you**, he typed, as soon as he was released from his second lecture.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
I've always found your judgement persuasive. Maybe, if worse comes to worst, I can make my paltry living by busking at restaurants. Shall I submit a resume, to persuade you to host me?   
  


Taako let himself into the apartment building and felt his phone buzz. His fished it out. Huh. Live music? That was a good thought, actually, might draw people in for the launch event. Or events? They could do more than one, keep up engagement. **That’s the spirit lol, I’ll have to run it by the owner**, he texted back as he walked.

He unlocked his door and stepped into the familiar, worn-in chaos: the old sofa dragged in from a secondhand shop, the small TV stand facing it, the tall bookcase, scratched up and filled with books and movies and random trinkets. Some might say there were too many throw pillows, but those kinds of people didn’t deserve to be invited here.

The one clean space was the kitchen; that was pristine, with a small table and chairs shoehorned into it. The whole apartment was bathed in sunlight from the window, still going strong in the early evening. “I’m home,” he called.

Lup popped her head over the back of the couch, where she was stretched out with a textbook. “How was your first day, bro-bro?” she teased. “They eatin’ outta your hand yet?”

Taako laughed. “I mean kinda, I’m the one with the food, I guess. I think it’ll be a sweet gig, owner seems nice. And apparently Mags’s yoga teacher works there? She’s cool. But there’s one guy, Lulu you would not _believe,_ he’s the biggest asshole nerd I’ve ever fuckin’ seen. Good lookin’, but a _douche.”_

Lup slammed her book shut. “Oh hell yeah, gimme the drama, let’s go,” she demanded.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
I was at least partially jesting, but if you would be so kind as to extend this opportunity, I will certainly assemble a resume. I must admit to not having been paid for performance before.   
  


Kravitz clutched a hand to his chest. This day had too many upsets as it was, what was he thinking, hitching the potential of a first meeting with his...his...T_sizzle, with a _job interview?_

He was a fool and a knave. His hands shook as he killed time on campus, finishing his classwork with one eye on the clock while he ignored the rumblings of his stomach.

But when it was finally his turn for the practice room and he was seated on the piano bench, he couldn't focus. He rubbed his face and took several deep breaths before allowing himself to pull out his phone.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
I have to say that I appreciate you very much, dear. You've been a constant friend to me. Thank you for your support. I hope, in turn, that if there's something I can do for you, you will think of me.   
  
You’re pretty cool yourself, handsome   
  
Right now what I really want is kinda hard to do over text (Smirking Face ) (Aubergine ≊ Eggplant)  


Taako turned his attention back to Lup. “So this guy, right? He works in the front of the shop, rings people up, sweeps a little, that’s a cashier, right?”

“Yeah, handles cash, cashier,” Lup confirmed.

“So he comes in, the owner goes to introduce us, I’m like, ‘oh, cashier?’ and this dipshit is like _‘assistant manager’,_ all offended like I just called his grandma a bitch, like come _on,_ maybe put it on a nametag if you’re so hung up on your fuckin’ _title.”_

“What the fuck? He _is_ a cashier though? Like he _is!”_ Lup exclaimed.

Taako scoffed. “Like obviously he is, but he’s got like, the Complete Works of Poe—no, _Kierkegaard_—up his ass, and I think he thinks I’m an idiot or something, so that’ll be fun when he figures out I’m _not.”_ Just because he didn’t finish school—nope. Not worth it, and Lup knew. She was there for him the whole way. She got it.

“Well, he sounds awful and not worth your time,” Lup declared. She opened her textbook back up. “I’ve got a little more of this, you wanna tagteam dinner after?”

Taako pulled a glass out of the cupboard and filled it with water. “Yeah, maybe like dinner salads? We’ve got some chicken and a bunch of good stuff we can throw in there.”

Meanwhile, Kravitz went through his exercises and warmed up like the diligent student he aspired to be before he allowed himself to pounce on his phone.** Oh? Do tell. You've been full of good plans all evening, and I could do with a pleasant distraction.**

Neither of T_sizzle's emojis came through, so Kravitz was left to wonder after his motivation as he carefully set his phone down and swept fingers across the keys. Learning new sheet music was engaging, but it didn't captivate him the way playing a familiar piece did. Each clumsy slip of his fingers on the chords hamstrung the wavering notes before they could rise.

Taako kept Grindr open on his phone until the reply crawled in. For all the sexy flirting, TC never did seem to pick up on a straightforward eggplant emoji. He shook his head. What an adorable nerd. **Well, obviously I don’t have you here or I could help you forget all about that stress, but if I did, this time I’d start with a little makeout sesh, maybe see what happens next**, he sent back. He glanced at Lup’s textbook. “Which class is that one?”

“Restorative Art. Y’know I thought this one would be a breeze, like it’s just _makeup,_ right? But it’s not, it’s seriously way more reading than I thought and they use like, buckets of weird ass paint and shit, not regular makeup. This one’s not the easy A after all, I guess.” She was halfway through mortuary school, with way less tuition to pay than Taako’d had, lucky duck. Still. With him working full time now, this place was about to get easier to afford, even with student loans.

.

The buzz of Kravitz's phone slipped in between the notes he plunked on the keyboard. He smiled to himself—he had a text waiting from his favorite person!—and let his fingers fly across the keys. For a few minutes, the notes came easily. He weaved a melody he remembered from grainy videos, made richer and resonant by the confines of the practice room.

He reached the bottom-right corner of the page and raised a hand to turn it. Then he grabbed his phone instead.

T_sizzle  
  
Well, obviously I don’t have you here or I could help you forget all about that stress, but if I did, this time I’d start with a little makeout sesh, maybe see what happens next   
  
Sesh is session, right? Making out sounds delightful. I am more than a little stressed right now. It would be a great comfort to me, if I could rub circles into your skin and hold you close. And kiss you. You deserve to be kissed, love.   
  


The message sent, Kravitz applied himself to the next page.

.

Taako paused halfway through reaching for the salad mix and checked his phone. He could see Lup, out of the corner of his eye, tapping a highlighter pen against her nose as she concentrated. Good. She wasn’t paying attention to him. He closed the crisper and the refrigerator too as he reread the text. 

**Great comfort**

**Hold you close**

**You deserve to be kissed, love.**

And Taako _blushed._

Oh, for fuck’s sake. He blushed like a schoolboy thinking about Trautonium_Corvid _kissing him,_ hands all over his body, in his hair, can’t get loose but it wouldn’t matter, because he wouldn’t want to, kissing and gasping and reaching...

It was only _kissing._ And here Trautonium_Corvid had him wanting to be kissed like he never had been before. Taako swallowed and shuddered a little. Maybe he was a nerd, and probably from a different social class altogether—music school can’t be cheap, and the way the guy talked just screamed _private school_—but Taako _really wanted to meet him_, is the thing.

He pulled himself together and typed a reply as he leaned against the refrigerator door: **I want that. I want it really bad, today’s been a lot and I really wanna kiss and touch and ignore it all** he sent. Fuck! Too needy? Too sappy? Too late. He started to root for the salad ingredients again

.

Kravitz buried his face in his hands and muffled a whimper. This was something they could have together: cuddling in bed, soft kisses and touches. He didn't even care that he paid extra to access the practice room at this hour; he wasted several minutes, overcome with emotion, imagining soft hands on his. Hands around his wrists.

T_sizzle offered to meet him. Kravitz could not take the man back to his rat-trap of an apartment. What was T_sizzle's place like? Could Kravitz imagine sleeping over there, on his sheets, surrounded by his things and his warmth?

Yes, he could. And he could waste another several minutes doing just that, before finally throwing himself back into practice. And sending off a quick message, because he couldn't resist.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
I have to be honest. I think we feel the same way about this. I want to be able to make a refuge from daily miseries with you. I find you quite attractive, of course, but more than that, I deeply respect your intelligence, your charm, and your wit. I have been thinking about how close we've grown through our conversations, and now I need to ask. What more you want. What more I can do for you.   
  


Taako stared at his phone, with one hand still halfway reaching toward a plastic clamshell of cherry tomatoes.

Taako wanted… well? What.

Hmmm. Drinks, minimum. A hookup, potentially.

A relationship, ideally.

Maybe the drinks idea was good to start.

I want to meet you. I like talking with you, but I want to see your face.   
  


Don’t think about it, hit send! some part of his mind encouraged—the horny part or the feelings part? Taako wasn’t sure it mattered, actually, the result was the same. He hit send, and then wrenched his attention back to the salad.

“Hey, heads up, this is almost ready,” he told Lup.

.

Kravitz forced himself to focus until his time was up in the practice room. The hallway lights were dim when he exited, the music building on its way to shutting down for the night. There were only a few other students left, studying at desks tucked against the wall.

He stopped off at his advisor's office and used the key she'd given him to retrieve his violin, as she was kind enough to let him store it there. He'd gone the entire day without finding time to touch it. He'd need to practice at home, noise complaints be damned. Maybe he could scrape a couple hours together tomorrow. Provided that Taako had no new upsets for him.

The setting sun was in his eyes for most of the way home. Between that and carrying his violin case, he wasn't able to read his phone screen until after he'd locked the door behind him. He stood just inside the threshold in the dark, violin case abandoned at his ankles, and typed out a reply with his heart in his throat.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
I want that too. When can we meet? How should we meet? For dinner? Somewhere public?   
  


Somewhere private, where he could slide his hands into T_sizzle's clothes and ruck them up to feel the bare skin underneath.

Kravitz made himself step away from the door and begin his evening routine. He hadn't eaten anything since the sandwich Taako made and it was well past dinner. Time to microwave some frozen pasta from Fantasy Stouffer's.

.

Lup looked up from her notes. “You want trays or table?” she asked.

Taako snorted. “Get over here and sit at the table like a normal person. I’ve got a real adult job now, we’re about to get _fancy.”_ He laughed as she blew a raspberry, then set her books aside and headed to the kitchen sink to wash her hands.

“Mmm, this looks good.” Lup slid into her seat and reached for the salad dressing. “You ever think about going profesh?” she teased.

Taako laughed. “Goofus.” He accepted the dressing from her, drizzling it generously over the salad. “I’m gonna get in there early tomorrow, y’know that honey wheat recipe? I’m gonna bake that one, the owner wants fancy sandwiches and they’ve got the stuff for ‘em but fresh bread’ll really take it up a notch.” He stabbed at his salad. “You studying more tonight?”

“Mhm,” Lup answered, then swallowed. “A little bit. You wanna round up anyone else to celebrate your first day? Or you gotta be up too early?”

“Probably better to do it on Friday, can’t go getting fired right off,” Taako joked. “We can play it by ear.” He fidgeted with his phone. No reply yet. He dug into the salad. It was good, easy, filling. He ate it all, chattered back and forth with Lup—good, easy, filling, in a different way, a family way. He wondered idly whether it would be that way with Trautonium_Corvid.

Would having him in Taako’s life be good, and easy, and fill his need for companionship? Not family like Lup, like a partner instead. Maybe. It was starting to look that way.

Taako’s phone buzzed as he carried his salad bowl over to the sink. He set the bowl down and fished the phone from his pocket. He smiled. **How about drinks to start? Saturday maybe, at the Full Moon Saloon over near the college? I could meet you there**, he replied.

Moon's wasn’t too far from here, and it was fun, but relaxed enough to be able to hear each other talk, and with plenty of friendly eyeballs. Y’know, just in case. It’s Grindr.

Wait, shit. Neither of them knew what the other looked like, how would they find each other? **I’ll hang a pair of sunglasses on my collar so you’ll know it’s me. The ones from my profile pic**, he typed. He paused. **I can’t wait**

He pocketed his phone again and moved aside for Lup to do the dishes. He’d let her know about the date later—“If I don’t come home and don’t text, call the cops, if I _do_ head home, I might need you to turn on a sexy playlist and _vanish_.”—but first, he wanted to take a few minutes to process.

Three seconds later, he turned to Lup. “I’ve got a _daaaaate!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> with Kravitz and Taako finally planning to hook up, that makes this the first time they've used Grindr correctly in nearly 9 months
> 
> everybody give a hurrah for labor day for giving me the time I needed to format this chapter
> 
> and a bigger hurrah for ST, knocking it out of the park with these chapter titles


	4. Swing Life Away/until you hold my hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad has some exciting news!

**Saturday sounds great,** Kravitz typed, hands shaking as he chiseled at the frozen center of his microwaved pasta. He should get up and heat it some more. He couldn’t look away from his phone. **I've been in Moon's before. It's really close to where I live, actually.**

A date. He had a date with the man he'd been talking to—and roleplaying…_intimate encounters_ with—for months. His closest friend, his only confidante, the man on whom so many of his hopes hinged. **How about I bring you flowers? That's how you'll know it's me.**

The money could come out of his frozen food budget. He barely wanted to eat this garbage anyway.

Taako quickly typed a reply, waving off Lup’s clamoring for details, as per their tradition. “What’s his name? Come on, details, is it serious? A hookup? Come _onnnnn,”_ she pestered.

**That’s really sweet. You’re always sweet to me baby.** To Lup he said, “It’s a dude from Grindr, he’s a musician. Just drinks, no big deal.” It was, but he was only saying anything because there was no way to keep it from her. The last thing he needed was to invite her to tease him. “It’s casual, y’know.”

Lup grinned and winked. “If you say so. But you look happy, so I’m happy. I’ll keep my phone on.”

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
I like being sweet to you. You deserve it.   
  


When Kravitz took his violin out of the case after dinner, he barely hesitated before setting bow to the strings. Nothing could dampen his elation. Let his neighbors complain about the sweet notes he played, infused with the eager hope electrifying his veins.

For Taako, the next two days fell into a recognizable—though not ideal—routine. Wake up, get dressed, get in to work, plan the sandwich of the day, plan the sides. He’d changed his mind and elected to hold off on the fresh bread until today. He was getting the feel of the kitchen, so this morning, first thing, he got in before Kravitz and quickly put together the ingredients for his favorite honey wheat bread. It was hearty, not too crusty or too soft, perfect for big, filling, sandwiches. It was easy, too, and comparatively quick to rise, not an all-day affair like a lot of recipes. He’d been in a good mood the past couple of days, only sniping at Kravitz when their paths crossed.

But when their paths crossed? Taako was giving as good as he got. Kravitz may have started this war, but Taako would finish it. He slid the loaves into the oven with a little more force than necessary, slamming the baking sheets against the back. He worked just as hard as Kravitz and he deserved some _respect_. It wasn’t like Kravitz could do his job, after all. He slammed the oven shut and whirled to start preparing the sausage links for the display case.

Kravitz, checking the shop’s email on the computer by the register, winced at the slam from the kitchen. Weren’t they paying for enough of Taako’s expertise that he could shut the oven like a normal person? It was deeply unfair that he was making so much money for contributing functionally _nothing_ to their core business. Meanwhile, Kravitz was managing the orders, the inventory, the email, the shop floor, half the sales, and basically all customer feedback.

He was left desperately wishing for his old routine. Having Taako underfoot was lethal to his schoolwork. Even on busy days, he was used to being able to spend at least an hour studying in snatches. Now, while the shop might be empty for a moment, he couldn't risk digging his textbook out. Not when Taako banged in and out of the kitchen several times an hour. At first Kravitz was hopeful that a routine would smooth things out, but that routine turned out to be Taako refilling various cases all day.

At least his administrative duties would be done by noon. Kravitz's fingers itched for his pen, his phone, _something_ to do outside of staring at the door and waiting for the next customer while exchanging jabs with Taako, who seemed determined to treat their interactions like a war. He clearly didn't realize that Kravitz had already lost.

Taako's efforts were working. Everyone loved his "sandwich of the day". Word hadn't gotten around quite yet, so they weren't inundated with customers, but Kravitz could tell they were headed in that direction. He'd already been forced to create an email list for customers who wanted to know if they could be notified next time Taako served up muffulettas. 

Yesterday afternoon, when she came to relieve him, Carey reported that Brad was so pleased he was practically dancing. Kravitz grit his teeth and put his mind towards the weekend. Everything would change once he had T_sizzle's hand in his. 

Plus, with the smell of baking bread permeating the shop, even Moon's greasy offerings were mouth-watering. Kravitz's stomach rumbled extravagantly. He swore Taako baked primarily to torture him.

Taako pulled the loaves of bread from the oven. He had fixed the squeaky hinges once it cooled after the first day—see? He could be reasonable—but mostly so that it wouldn’t drive him up a wall, too. He set the loaves to cool and started on fillings. Turkey? Yes. Swiss? Yes. Lettuce? For sure. Tomato? Absolutely. Pesto aioli? Now that’s what made him a genius. 

He paused to message Trautonium_Corvid: **Morning sexy, how’s it going?** (Face Throwing A Kiss )

By the time he had the ingredients lined up, the bread was ready for an inaugural slice. Taako cut a couple of generous slices and stacked up a sandwich, plated it, and headed out to the display case.

The kitchen door swung shut quietly. Kravitz, hunched and brooding over his phone, didn’t seem to notice. Taako tiptoed up behind him. “Hey, Kravitz!” he yelled.

Kravitz whirled around so fast that he caught his locs on a drawer handle.

Several panicked seconds of flailing later, he managed to free himself, only slightly worse for wear. _“What?_ What could have possibly warranted shouting?” he griped, shutting off his phone screen. Damn it all, he hadn’t gotten to read T_sizzle’s latest missive before Taako barged in.

Taako rearranged his face into a look of offense and put on his best passive-aggressive voice as Kravitz tried to smooth his hair down. “Is it a new rule that I can’t greet my esteemed coworker? I figured the assistant manager would have said if friendly greetings are off limits; no _sir,_ only surly silence from now on.” He clapped Kravitz on the shoulder and slid the case open. “Lighten up, my dude, I’ve got a sandwich to display.”

He proceeded to set said sandwich neatly in its spot, taking his sweet time to buff out a little smudge on the glass shelf with his sleeve. Kravitz glowered fiercely at him.

Taako was such an asshole. Kravitz scooted back from the invasion of space and answered his sneer in kind. “I’m sorry, were you raised in a barn? Did you miss the day in kindergarten when the rest of us learned not to shout indoors? If you can achieve ‘surly _silence’,_ I would love to see it.”

“Oh, far be it from _me,_ I’m pretty sure glares and the silent treatment are your schtick, I would _never,”_ Taako shot back. “Why would I do _your_ thing when my thing is so much better? Nah, you stay out here and frighten people with your weird murder stare, and I’ll keep making our customers the tastiest sandwiches imaginable, how’s that?” He turned on his heel and headed back to the kitchen.

Kravitz let him go, the door slamming shut. He fixed the kitchen door with a scathing glare and counted off ten seconds, listening carefully for any signs of Taako's reemergence. Then he dove for his phone.

Taako started wiping down the counter, fuming. Wow, Kravitz. Just wow. Raised in a barn? Really. Fuck him. His phone buzzed and he fished it out. His expression transformed from annoyance to concern. Geez, poor Trautonium_Corvid!

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
I've been better. I haven't even been to class yet and I'm already wishing I could crawl back into bed and escape from the rest of the world. People, specifically.   
  
Of course, I could make an exception for you, love. ;)   
  
I’m sorry, baby, wish I could hold you and make you feel better. I’d make you feel amazing (Winking Face ) soon though! Anything I can do to help?   
  


Kravitz waited for a rush of customers—more than half there for sandwiches, of _course_—to make their purchases and leave—yes, he could recommend a cider that went well turkey and pesto aioli, thank _you_ for asking—anxiously tapping his fingers against his jeans. Then, with that taken care of, he seized his phone.

I'm sure your company alone will lift my spirits. You don't have to do anything special, love. Just be yourself, and I will be thrilled to be in your vicinity.   
  
Though, if you are available, it would be nice to fantasize about… let’s say, means of comfort. For example, I would find a kiss incredibly soothing.   
  


Taako assembled sandwiches for the quick run of customers, thoughts with Trautonium_Corvid. As soon as it slowed, he pulled his phone back out.

I really wanna kiss you, handsome. My apartment has a window and when the sun sets it shines in on the couch. I could crawl up into your lap and kiss you breathless while the sunset lights us up, babe. You’ll be so beautiful with the light on you (Smiling Face With Heart-Shaped Eyes )   
  


Mmmmm, now that was a picture. Better keep that idea to try for real.

That sounds wonderful. I would love to see you on top of me, silhouetted by the light. I would want to slide my hands into your shirt and stroke your back as we kissed.   
  
It’s hard to believe that we’ll finally see each other this weekend. Would lunch or dinner be best for you? I want to account for the likelihood that we’ll want to spend more time together, after Moon's.   
  
Lunch on Saturday would be amazing, we’d have so much time to do whatever we want. I wanna spend all day with you. I wanna be near you and please you like it’s my job (Face Throwing A Kiss )   
  
I feel the same way about you. I’m looking forward to it immensely. I would be happy to do anything you’d like. :)   
  


_Anything_ T_sizzle liked. And, if clothes came off for it? So much the better.

Taako grinned at the message. **I can think of a few things, and I promise you’ll enjoy them** (Aubergine ≊ Eggplant) (Splashing Sweat Symbol ≊ Sweat Droplets) (Splashing Sweat Symbol ≊ Sweat Droplets) (Splashing Sweat Symbol ≊ Sweat Droplets)

He reluctantly pocketed his phone and went to check on the state of the displays.

Kravitz heard the kitchen door swing open and threw his phone into his bag before Taako could spot him. He raised one eyebrow. “What are you doing back out here? It hasn’t even been half an hour since I last saw you, and I would’ve appreciated a longer respite.”

“Oh, you don’t want me to talk to you, so you talk to me? Anyone ever tell you you’re impossible to please?” Taako retorted. “Forget it! I’m out here to _not talk to you,_ hope you’re happy.” He started looking over the cases, pointedly ignoring Kravitz.

Before he had a chance to focus, the bell over the front door jingled and Brad walked in, all genial, businesslike smile and business-casual suit. “Ah, gentlemen! So glad to see everything going smoothly,” he said briskly.

Taako straightened up and returned his smile. “Hi, Brad, you here to give me a sous chef? Got these folks hooked, it’s gonna get busy,” he joked. Let Kravitz embarrass himself with his attitude. Taako wouldn’t: Brad here signed the checks, as Taako well knew.

“I’m actually here with an announcement, and a scheduling note,” Brad answered. “Thanks to Taako’s excellent idea to have a launch event. I’ve secured us a booth at the Munch Run this Saturday. We’ll need to be setting up by 8 o’clock to be ready on time, and we should be out of there by 5. I really think we can do well with this.” His smile widened further.

A few leaden seconds passed before they managed to twist their expressions away from dumbfounded shock. Kravitz stared open-mouthed at Taako, fury gathering behind his eyes. "I'm not—that is to say, I was unaware of this event, and I don't typically work Saturdays—"

“Of course, I’m so sorry,” Brad said, clapping his hands together. “It’s absolutely essential that I have you there to supervise. It’s too much work for one person, and Taako’s not trained on the register yet. So I’ll pay you double for your time. Carey can’t take a shift, as she’ll be participating in the marathon, but her girlfriend—you know Killian, she works with the local paper—will be stopping by. I’ll want you there to help her stage some photos, Kravitz. This is a priceless opportunity, we can’t miss the exposure this will bring our new prepared foods.”

_Oh fuck._ “So like...” Taako fumbled. He was having trouble picking just _one_ of the questions he already knew the answers for. This was mandatory? Of course. It had to be _this_ Saturday? Obviously. Brad was gonna make Taako squeeze into an outdoor booth _with Kravitz,_ who at this very moment looked like he was about to _kill Taako?_ Yes, apparently, and at double pay.

He winced. He was gonna have to pray that TC would understand and reschedule without thinking Taako was blowing him off. He needed this job, there might not—probably wouldn’t—be another, not in his field, at this pay, and after what happened—not now. “So, I guess I’ll come up with a plan,” he finished with difficulty. “Yeah, I’ll make it happen,” he tried again, a little stronger.

He could do this. He glanced back at Kravitz, who still looked ready to commit Taakocide as soon as Brad was out of the picture. What was his problem? Taako was the one with _plans,_ what was it to Kravitz?

Brad grinned wider and glanced excitedly between them. It was like he was trying to infect them with his excitement, so he was making like a plague vector. “Great! I knew I could count on you two. The menu I’ll leave to your excellent judgment, Taako, and Kravitz, I’ll need you to do signage,” he said briskly. “How exciting! I’m sure this will be a hit!”

"Of course," Kravitz dazedly echoed Brad.

He could barely focus on the rest of their conversation, and failed to notice that Taako was struggling similarly. Supplies, transportation, license fees, stock--it was all one big blur, a rapid fire chatter spat by Brad, who was rushing to get back to his dayjob.

Brad was effusive and enthusiastic in equal measure. Kravitz was surprised that his bitterness didn't show on his face, but, he realized, he often looked sour at work. Brad may very well think that moue was his default expression. Taako certainly did; he only hoped that Kravitz was reserving some of his brain cells for paying attention, instead of boiling them all in rage like a big pissy crab pot, because Taako was _out_.

Kravitz couldn't bring himself to care. His plans with T_sizzle, the only thing he'd truly looked forward to in weeks, had come crashing down around his ears. And he still had to notify him.

This was all Taako's fault. Brad credited him fully for the _wonderful idea_ of setting up a booth at a marathon that he and Carey were both running in. Taako should've had the sense to keep his mouth shut after realizing that half the staff were busy during the event. Three-fifths, with their infrequent delivery boy not quite finished with school for the summer.

Money was the obvious incentive, but Kravitz couldn’t help but feel that Taako had proposed this venture for the specific purpose of ruining his weekend. When Brad raced behind the counter to review the inventory, he turned to glare daggers at the side of Taako’s head.

Taako excused himself back to the kitchen and scuttled out of Kravitz’s sight as soon as he could, leaving him and Brad to hash the rest of the details out. It would be fine, he’d reschedule, push the date from lunch to dinner. He pulled out his phone and noticed a trio of texts from Lup.

hey heads up I got a project for ra class this weekend and a study buddy sitch on sun   
  
ur not gonna wanna bring a boy around this shit it’s deffo not safe for normies jsyk u might wanna try for his place if ur gonna get some   
also heads up I might need some privacy on sun with study buddy HOLLA   
  


Taako sighed. For fuck’s sake. He opened Grindr. **I’m so sorry, I can’t make Saturday work (Crying Face ) can we reschedule?**

Brad clapped his hands excitedly. "I'll bring more supplies for the booth after work. I'm thinking cord in fun colors, for the banner. The shop printing that for us only offered black or white, so I'll have to stop at Lowe's…. Tell Carey I'll see her, oh, roundabouts six-thirty?"

"Right, yes," Kravitz said. Brad was standing on the threshold with the door open, one hand on the door frame and the other, infuriatingly, tugging the handle back and forth as he prattled. The little bell overhead had been jingling softly for the past few minutes of conversation. Kravitz was certain the noise had masked the ding of his phone at one point. "I've got it, Brad. I'll tell her."

"Excellent, excellent. Thank you, Kravitz. I'll just head out, then."

"Yes, see you later," Kravitz said. He hoped his thinning patience didn't show on his face, but the corners of his eyes felt tight. It was grossly unfair that Taako had inflicted this on him and then managed to escape to the kitchen. "Goodbye now."

"Goodbye!"

Kravitz sighed in relief as the door finally shut, with one faint, final tinkle.

Brad threw open the door again and ushered a group of elderly women forward, who thanked him as they poured into the store. Kravitz scrambled back against the counter to let them pass.

They took close to half an hour to make their purchases. By the end of it, Kravitz's customer service voice was decidedly clipped. When they finally exited the store he was so stunned by the ensuing peace that he stood in place at the register, savoring it, before remembering his phone.

Only to find bad news waiting for him before he could even let himself get properly upset about having to cancel on T_sizzle.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
I’m so sorry, I can’t make Saturday work can we reschedule?   
  
As it turns out, I have an engagement I can’t get out of myself, so that’s perfectly alright. Would later in the evening be better, or Sunday?   
  
Saturday’s completely out, I can do Sunday but a roommate situation came up and I can’t take us there. But I really want us to have some downtime together   
  


Maybe the man would take the hint? He wasn’t about to bring Trautonium_Corvid into whatever weird corpse-study situation Lup had so vaguely described, though, and it sounded like she was angling to bang her study buddy. He made a mental note to tease her later, then replied to her, too: **hell yeah get it** (White Right Pointing Backhand Index ≊ Backhand Index Pointing Right) (Collision Symbol ≊ Collision)

He nervously checked Grindr again, then smiled at Lup’s answering text:(Collision Symbol ≊ Collision) (White Left Pointing Backhand Index ≊ Backhand Index Pointing Left) **hell yeah**

Taako slipped the phone back into his pocket. Time to brainstorm, apparently.

Kravitz peeked into the kitchen to make sure Taako was busy, then retreated to his station. He sat down on the stool behind the register and sucked his lips between his teeth. Downtime with T_sizzle. . . **By downtime, what do you mean?**

He'd shared that he was a student. Maybe a poor standard of living was implied by that, and T_sizzle would be gracious, but Kravitz could not envision a rendezvous in his crappy apartment as a positive experience. The man was a head chef. What would he think of Kravitz's shoebox kitchen that didn't even have a range? Or the heinous mess of a living room that spilled into it, all packed shelves and milk crates and full boxes, because his unit had only a single built-in closet the exact depth of a wire hanger and not one centimeter more.

Kravitz needed to make the best first impression possible. He couldn’t bear it if his apartment disappointed. Watching T_sizzle’s eyes flicker and close off as he surveyed the mess would devastate.

As eager as I am to spend some time in private with you, I am not able to have visitors to my place this Sunday. I'm so sorry.   
  
It’s okay. We can pick another day then, maybe, I just feel like you deserve better than a bathroom quickie. Maybe I’m jumping the gun a little but I kinda don’t only wanna see you the once   
  
Thanks for being so sweet about this, I’ve been dealing with a bit of a communication problem here at work and it’s frustrating :(   
  
I don't think you're jumping the gun. I already feel like you're an important part of my life. I wish I could comfort you after frustrating workdays, because I completely understand.   
  


Kravitz typed backed as he scrutinized the deli case. After that last rush they were running low on both gouda and swiss. Hopefully Taako wasn't just slacking off on his phone and would soon make an appearance. Kravitz didn't fancy going into the kitchen to rouse him; surely he would realize they'd been cleaned out by himself.

It must be very difficult to run a kitchen when your coworkers don't communicate with you as they should. I'm sorry about that, love.   
  


He bit his lip and hesitated before sending his next message, blush creeping across his cheeks.

I wouldn’t say no to a bathroom quickie, to be perfectly honest. That’s not in character for me, but if it was you asking, I doubt I’d think twice.   
  


Taako leaned against the counter. Come on, come on, sandwiches. Something that could hold its shape, decently unique, easy to make, easy to eat. This was an outdoor event. Any second now, an idea would hit him. Any second now, his heart would stop beating so hard from TC’s words.

His phone buzzed and he gave up on the menu to reply. **It’s not the kind of thing I normally go for either. I’m not an easy guy … but you make it easy to talk** (Face Throwing A Kiss )

He leaned back and stared at the ceiling, foot tapping as he brainstormed. Sandwiches. For runners. For spectators. He’d stay right here until he figured it out and check cases later, preferably when Carey was around to bounce ideas off. No sense just walking into a patented Kravitz Sulk™ after all. If he wanted something, he knew where to find Taako.

**I find talking to you a great comfort. Your company is always a pleasure, love. I very much want to reschedule our meeting. My classes consume my weekdays, so may I ask after your availability for the weekend after this one?** Kravitz typed, dismissing notifications of texts from Brad. Then he sighed and switched to his SMS, because he really couldn't ignore his boss.

Ah, a list of the other vendors at the event and incoming suggestions about what drinks they should stock. Thank goodness Brad was typing all of that into the chat instead of emailing Kravitz a word doc to open, because his phone would not be able to cope.

It looked like plenty of beer was already on offer, so Kravitz replied, **How about some of the Bold Rock ciders? The fruit flavors especially: blackberry, blood orange, peach, citrus, etc. I can put some coolers together, they’re excellent on ice.**

He’d just have to make the best of things. Being stuck in a booth with Taako all day would be terrible, but at least he was getting paid. It only stung because there was someone else he’d so much rather be with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kravitz fronts hard, but Taako is the one pretending he normally types with proper grammar and punctuation for some dick


	5. Hello, Here I Am/do this with me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako and Kravitz put on their customer service faces, each privately bemoaning their missed date.
> 
> Maybe they'd figure things out if they did a little moaning together.

Saturday dawned sticky and hot. The booth was gonna be hell, between the portable fryer Brad had lugged out and Taako’s assigned personal demon, Kravitz. Taako had had an epiphany and decided to do corndogs from scratch, after seeing Brad’s reaction to a test one. It would add to the fun, outdoor atmosphere and still be quality ingredients, but easy to eat. But. The downside was that it would be _hot_ over the fryer.

Taako had rescheduled for the following Saturday with Trautonium_Corvid, and during the intervening time the two had messaged back and forth, sometimes sweet and sometimes.

_Well._

Taako was counting the moments ‘til Saturday, that much was certain.

But for now, he fired up the fryer and prepared for hungry customers. This was, arguably, like 80% his idea, and he was definitely gonna make sure it went smoothly. That extra money was gonna come in handy with Lup still in school and working part-time. Just in case.

Carey stuck around long enough to help Kravitz set up the tent and hang the banner. He pointedly made conversation only with her, under the pretense that he was letting Taako concentrate on the fryer.

Kravitz knew his temper would be taxed by the hours ahead. The day had barely begun, and already sticky heat was gathering on the asphalt, unhindered by the pale shadows cast by the line of tents. He was more than a little incredulous that Brad really had gone out of his way to get 'fun', candystriped cords for the booth. Nothing about this day would be _fun_. Fun was baccarat in a smoky room or drinking wine on a patio or time alone with a grand piano on a dark stage. It was absolutely not forcing himself to smile at milling crowds of people, all far too chipper for the early hour, while the high ponytail he'd pulled his dreads back into flopped against his sweaty neck.

Fun was not missing his first date with his paramour to sit with Taako. Kravitz slumped into a folding chair with a tablet in his lap, setting up the Shopkeep app to be ready for whatever customers would be attracted by Taako's corndogs. Kravitz felt strongly that he should not have been made to pair cider and beer choices to corndogs. Far Corners was not a _corndogs_ kind of business.

He almost hoped sales would flop, so Brad would never make him do anything like this again. Surely customers who recognized them and approached, expecting charcuterie and cheese, would be disappointed. They should have done canapes. Kravitz would have been delighted to find a booth offering canapes at a marathon like this one.

Taako glanced over at Kravitz. Ugh. _That_ face wasn’t exactly gonna draw in crowds. Far from looking enthused for customer service, the dude seemed beleaguered and vaguely offended. The way he glowered suspiciously at the corndogs Taako was preparing, you’d think someone had smacked him across the face with one. Guess it’d be up to Taako to add any fucking _appeal_ to this booth. Fine. Taako knew where his bread was buttered, he’d do the damn thing.

He looked up as folks started to walk by. He ignored the sweat already gathering on him in the fryer’s heat, despite the scantiness of the clothing he’d chosen—just enough for food safety, but _barely_. He favored an athletic-looking half-orc with a flirty smile. _Come on, folks, come and get your corndogs, ignore this party pooper. _

The half-orc made his way over. “I’d like a corndog,” he said. 

Taako handed over that corndog with a wink. “Here you go, big fella, come see us at Far Corners for lunch sometime, ‘kay?” He turned his attention to the others beginning to meander past the booth. _Come on folks, plenty where that came from._

Kravitz tapped away at the tablet, entering the order. "Would you care for a drink with that?"

"Nah, I’ve got a water bottle," the half-orc. He took a large bite of his corndog. "Hey! This is real good."

The marathon might not have even started properly yet, and already two more people in athleticwear were veering towards their booth. Kravitz hurriedly finished ringing the half-orc up and sent the receipt off to his email.

Taako smiled as he pulled corndogs from the hot fryer grease. He handed them to the new customers with a flourish. “If you like these, you should totally come check us out, we’ve got all kinds of cool sausage and beer and stuff, you’d love it,” he assured one of them, before looking up to see another few people headed in the direction of the booth. He made eye contact with a couple. “Why don’t you see if Kravitz here can get you something to wash that down with, my guy?” 

He cut his eyes over to Kravitz. _You’re welcome._ Was he gonna carry this thing on his fucking back or was Kravitz gonna _liven up?_

Kravitz refused to admit that Taako was doing a fine job until the world at large ceased being ardently pernicious. He did his very best to not meet Taako's gaze, all the while tracking each of his movements. The sun glared off the white stucco buildings lining the street, making it hard to read the tablet even when Kravitz shielded the screen with his arm. An arm that was rapidly becoming coated in sweat from the rising heat. His fingers flew across the screen, ringing up each order as quickly as Taako could hand out corndogs, breaking away only to grab drinks out of the coolers. All that and he couldn't spare a moment to unbutton his cuffs so he could roll his shirt sleeves up.

Taako slipped into a rhythm. Customers were coming in a steady stream, and it was hot in the tent, but he kept up, efficiently passing out corndogs, engaging customers, encouraging them with smiles and winks to get a cider, too, and stop by the shop soon. The fruit ciders were a hit, of course, but it was clearly the corndogs that attracted runners like flies. If Taako wasn't doing such a good job directing them to Kravitz for drinks afterwards, he might have found himself lugging full coolers back to the store.

"The strawberry kiwi is the sweetest," he recommended to a runner who was holding her corndog over the counter, well into Kravitz’s personal space bubble. The breading was crackly, glistening with oil, and smelled so damn good he couldn't stand it. He didn't like corndogs. He _didn't_: he was only tempted because breakfast had been his emergency back-up cereal, gone stale, with the last splash of milk from the bottom of the carton. When had he last eaten a hot meal? Ah, macaroni and cheese, two nights ago. From Kraft. Garnished with parsley from the one plant in his windowbox that was still clinging to life.

The runner paid and moved on. Kravitz picked at one of his buttoned cuffs, trying to work it loose, and had to abandon his efforts when the next customer jogged up.

He let his hands linger in the cooler for a few unnecessary seconds while he fetched out her cider. The cold felt marvelous. He was infinitely thankful his black shirt wouldn’t show sweat stains, because he was well past overheated.

Taako felt sweat rolling down his back, under his shirt. Why Kravitz was all dressed up he’d never know, this place was a _furnace._

After hours of customers streaming by, a bit of a lull settled in. Taako stepped back from the fryer gratefully. “Fuck, I’m _melting,”_ he observed ruefully. “And I’m starved, y’want one of these, too?” And with that he plunged another couple of corndogs into the fryer.

"Um, we're allowed to eat the merchandise?" Kravitz said, before realizing how silly he sounded. Brad was eminently reasonable. He would probably encourage them to snack.

He flipped a cooler open. “I’m not sure about corndogs, but I’ll definitely be having a cider. Want one?” he offered, too fatigued to stoke his grudge against Taako.

“Too late, made two,” Taako sang. “Plus, if you faint in here and make me deal with that I’ll be pissed.” He held out the corndog. “Trade ya,” he said.

“I’m not going to _faint,”_ Kravitz scoffed, digging through the cooler. He decided that Taako looked like a key lime kind of guy and fished a bottle out. He took the corndog uncertainly, turning it over in his hand to watch the oil glisten. All of his previous corndog experience was with the microwaved variety.

Taako accepted the bottle Kravitz gave him, then reached out with his corndog and gave Kravitz’s a gentle bump. “Cheers,” he joked, then took a big bite. His eyes fluttered shut with pleasure and his throat bobbed as he bit into the corndog. Mmmmm, perfect. No wonder they’d been swamped, these were excellent. 

Kravitz stared at Taako, transfixed. His lips were shiny with oil when he lowered the stick to open his cider and take a long drink. He swallowed and said, “Aren’t you roasting in that getup? It’s like a million degrees in here.”

"Hot," Kravitz said, then internally smacked himself. He had coped just fine with Taako's short-shorts all morning, he was _not_ going to pieces now. Not when the man who held his heart was waiting for him. "I mean, of course it's hot, it's nearly June. I will freely admit the necessity of rolling my sleeves up, if you'd please excuse me..."

Kravitz stuffed the corndog into his mouth to shut himself up and grabbed at his cuff.

The taste registered on his tongue and his eyes flew open. The corndog’s crust was crispy and golden over fluffy dough, lightly salted and tangy. The sausage at its center was even better, sumptuously juicy and perfectly warmed. Kravitz had eaten these exact sausages before; Far Corners had sold them for years. But not like this.

Taako watched with amusement as Kravitz fumbled with his cuffs, corndog hanging out of his mouth. “Good, right? You shoulda seen Brad try one—_enthusiastic,_ he’d probably say,” Taako smirked. He took another bite and chewed thoughtfully. “The cider’s good with ‘em.”

Kravitz yanked at his buttoned cuff so hard he accidentally bit through his corndog. It fell, and he only just managed to scoop it out of the air before it hit the tablet on the table below.

Taako chuckled. This absolute goober. Kravitz was doing far too many things at once and failing at all of them. “Hold still, my dude, lemme,” he said, then stuck his own corndog in his mouth and unbuttoned Kravitz’s left sleeve cuff, rolling it neatly up his forearm. He rolled the right one, too, then bit off a piece of corndog and leaned back against the counter examining his handiwork as he chewed and swallowed.

Huh. Kravitz was like, 30% hotter with his sleeves rolled up, and the dreads put up like that? Nice. Taako was usually distracted by Kravitz’s nitpicking or sulky silence, but apparently that could sometimes be solved by shoving a corndog in his mouth, good to know. If Taako wasn’t kinda-sorta-maybe gonna date Trautonium_Corvid, and Kravitz wasn’t such an ass to him, Taako’d probably give the guy a shot.

“It occurs to me,” Kravitz said, enunciating to evince dignity, “that I might have waited until we were due a proper lunch break. I mean. That is to say, we can’t both break for lunch at the same time, because the booth would go unmanned.”

“Y’know we’ll prolly both have to stick around, though, I’m not trained on the register, and from what Brad said in the interview I can’t trust you not to fall into the fryer, for real,” Taako said with a smirk. He took another drink of cider.

Kravitz viciously bit into his corndog, trying to banish the lingering sensation of Taako's fingertips on the sensitive skin inside his wrists. He couldn’t remember having anyone help roll up his sleeves before. It was childish. The only reason it felt nice was that he seldom enjoyed any intimacy. Taako was a smirking ass, he wasn't attractive—with his hair pulled up to expose the arch of his neck, wearing shorts hemmed so high that the edges of his underwear peaked out when he bent over, clever eyes glinting above a crooked smile—

Nope. Nope, nope, nope. Kravitz had a far better target for his affections. T_sizzle could be a used gymsock in a paper sack and Kravitz would still be enamored of him. He was a true friend, and he’d kept Kravitz company through some of his darkest months. Taako was a spiteful airhead who was being overpaid to disrupt Kravitz's plans.

Kravtiz grit his teeth. “You didn’t think to coordinate more with Brad, to ensure we had a break? What if one of us needs to use the facilities? I thought you were running this show. This was _your_ idea.”

And there it was, the reason Taako definitely like Kravitz better with his mouth full: _no talking._ “That seems like a job for the _assistant manager,_ not the culinary talent,” Taako replied airily. “What, you need to go? Give me five minutes with this thing, I’ll make it work and do both, bet that’d be a trip for Brad to wander past, huh?”

He looked at Kravitz with a challenge in his eyes, then took a bite of his corndog. If Kravitz wanted to sink the source of his paycheck out of spite over working a weekend? So be it, but Taako knew where his bread was buttered. He’d step in and cover, but he’d make damn sure it was clear what had happened in the aftermath. He had rent to pay, and not just for him, either. Kravitz needed to stand down, and probably open a button or two in this heat—okay, wow, that wasn’t a thing Taako just thought, it wasn’t so he could see what kind of chest situation Kravitz had going on, for sure. It was _hot,_ Kravitz was _hot_—like from the _temperature_ in here, it was making him _cranky,_ he should _chill!_ Taako took another bite of his corndog. _Chill._

“With fewer than forty-eight hours’ notice to plan this event, I would have never tried to pull it off. I had no say in this; it’s entirely your project. Brad knows I have other obligations,” Kravitz said. Those obligations weren’t any of Taako’s business. Unless Carey or Brad had told Taako he was a music student, he wouldn’t know, and Kravitz liked it that way. He wanted Taako to have as little to do with his life as possible. “Despite this, Brad values me as his assistant. He would see your petty attempts to drive a wedge between us for what they are.”

Taako glared back. “You were _there,_ my dude, did it look like I had a _choice_ in the matter? Brad picking this weekend had nothing to do with me, what’d you think I was gonna do, tell him no? I got _bills_ to pay, not just for me, either, and as far as I’m concerned the better this goes the easier that gets for both of us. You’ve obviously got some sort of problem with me or whatever, but I’m not the one trying to ‘drive a wedge’ here. I’ll do this thing with your help or without it. I’d prefer with.”

Did Kravitz not get it? Taako had tried being friendly from day one, but no, Kravitz was having none of it. Taako was getting awfully sick of being left out of the loop on things; if Kravitz hated working with him that much, he could quit. Good riddance.

"You egged him into the idea of putting together a booth, and were oblivious to the coming marathon, the obvious event at which—" Kravitz cut himself off mid-rant. He had gestured to the street, his hand racing in front of his eyes.

But when his eyes caught up, he saw the surge of walkers headed towards them. With horror, he realized the steady stream earlier had just been the few try-hards who were actually jogging the marathon. The bulk of the crowd was now here, bearing down upon them, a tide of t-shirts and ballcaps and garlands.

"You say that you'd prefer to have my help, but I'm sure you'd rather see the back of me," Kravitz said in undertone, low and acid. "You should praise your good fortune that I'm not abandoning you to face this alone."

He stuffed the rest of the corndog into his mouth and chased it with cider, chewing resolutely as he watched the crowd advance. Rather like a horde of zombies, clamoring for sustenance.

Taako glared at Kravitz, then plastered a smile back onto his face as the crowd approached. “Oh, thanks so much for _doing your job.”___

Maybe he would like to see the back of Kravitz, see if it’s as nice as the front of him, his traitor brain supplied. Taako pushed the thought aside.

_Just a peek though?_ his brain insisted. Taako ignored it and focused on the family ambling up to the tent. “Hey, buddy, you hungry? Oh, he’s adorable, how many you all need?” he asked a young woman shepherding a small boy along.

“Three, please,” she requested, glancing over at her partner, who was lined up at another vendor’s tent.

“You got ‘em,” Taako said, reaching down to offer one to the child. “Careful, little dude, that’s hot, okay? You enjoy those.”

The woman stepped over to pay Kravitz. Taako watched out of the corner of his eye. Taako would do his job, and let Kravitz do his. If he wanted to act like an asshole, so be it.

Kravitz saw what Taako's game was. He could play along. He cranked up his customer service to eleven, passing out drinks with a flourish while his fingers danced across the tablet. _Pianist_ fingers: they weren't going to have a line at their booth, no sir, the marathon would proceed apace. Every single one of these wonderful people would get their corndog, a drink, Kravitz's best smile, and the receipt in their email.

He aimed to process customers faster than Taako could fry corndogs. Even if he worked up an abominable sweat. When the rush lulled for a moment, Kravitz yanked his shirt over his head and hastily folded it into his bag. In only an undershirt, he felt exposed, but the relief of air on his shoulders was well worth it.

Taako tried not to gape. Kravitz in a button-down was one thing; it was familiar, professional, stodgy. The rolled up sleeves had been a bonus; the man had nice forearms, nice _wrists_. But Kravitz in an undershirt plastered to his back with sweat, with shoulders _like that?_ He was _glorious._ He was a _snack._

He was _bait,_ Taako thought suspiciously.

And Taako wasn’t falling for it. If Kravitz wanted him gone, a harassment claim was a damn sneaky way to go about it, but _fine._ Taako routinely ignored Kravitz, he could ignore him now, and focus on the stream of customers. It might’ve been an illusion, but it seemed like Kravitz was trying to outpace Taako and force customers to wait after they’d paid. Taako was nobody’s fool.

He was, however, red-blooded and very gay.

Kravitz was _smiling._ The hot guy was _smiling_ at customers. What a dirty fucking trick. Taako steeled himself, made small talk and corndogs, got them into customers’ hands, sent them on their way. Four o’clock had better come fast.

"Wow, you're from Far Corners? I didn't know you guys did food!" a friendly grandmother in a tracksuit enthused, handing out corndogs to the pack of small children orbiting her knees as fast as Taako could pull them the fryer. "I love your store! I've never been able to find Gruet's Arbane anywhere else!"

"Ah, the _cuvée speciale?"_ Kravitz replied, his smile genuine for once, even though he wished she would get a move on so the next customer could step up. "That one's hard to keep in stock, but we have a few bottles on the shelf right now, actually. We'd love to have you stop by. And we have several fruit ciders on offer today." He gestured to the sign.

She waved her hand with a laugh. “Oh, goodness! I’m still working on my last bottle, thank you, and I don’t dare touch a drop of alcohol when I’ve got children to mind. They’d all want a taste! But if you’re serving prepared food, I think I could drop by with my grandbabies. They love these corndogs—what else have you got?”

Taako cut in. “You should come see! We sell these same sausages, first time they’ve ever been corndogged, though, and we’ve always got a sandwich of the day and lots of fun sides, it’s never boring! You could get everything for a nice picnic sometime.”

“Ooh, a picnic would be nice, with summer coming,” the woman agreed.

“For sure! When I was a kid, my aunt always took my sister and me out to the beach for a picnic as soon as school let out, to kinda kick off the summer, y’know, make it special,” Taako told her. “Looks like that’d be quite an outing for you all, though! Lots of kiddos.”

The woman chuckled. “Easier if you handle the food,” she joked.

Taako laughed as she herded the children away. “That’s what we’re here for, don’t be a stranger,” he sang. He moved on to the next customer, but not before catching a glimpse of Kravitz bending over and reaching into a cooler—_holy fuck, unfair._

Kravitz stayed bent over the cooler for a moment too long, pretending he was fishing for a particular cider. He left his hands submerged past the point the ice felt pleasantly cool. Because, as he had suddenly realized, that vantage forced him to look up the hem of Taako's teeny track shorts. His brain was still recovering. There was—a flash of pink? Maybe red? No lace, but those couldn't be boxers, but—

But it wasn’t any of his business and he needed to stop caring, _now._ Taako’s butt was very nice, and not for display. Kravitz was not going to creep on his obnoxious coworker. He shot to his feet and stretched his back out, then put the ciders down on the table to sweep his drooping locs into a tighter ponytail. He leaned his head back with his eyes screwed and fumbled to get the tie firmly in place before the next customer.

Taako’s eyebrows shot up. Of all the _nerve._ That had to be deliberate, right? Kravitz reaching upward, tilting his head up to expose his neck, eyes closed, tying his hair back? _Intent._ Like he was ready to _do_ something. The little shake of the head, the little roll of those shoulders. On purpose, surely. Showing off.

And he certainly had something to show.

That little display nearly put paid to any of Taako’s plans to ignore Kravitz. His hands faltered reaching for another corndog—he’d rather reach for something _else_—but recovered just in time to see Brad and Carey ambling up with an orc woman toting a camera. That must be Killian, Carey’d told Taako about her, and Brad said she’d take pictures.

Pictures. Smiling next to _Kravitz._ Oh for fuck’s sake. Taako put his fake smile back on.

“Hey, everyone,” Taako began brightly. “Picture time?” He looked at Kravitz. Say cheese, you beautiful _jerk._

Brad was cheerfully ridiculous in his neon pink Munch Squad t-shirt. He and Carey wore matching novelty sunglasses and wide smiles. Carey was carrying a thoroughly-gnawed turkey leg the size of her head in one hand and a huge plastic margarita glass in the other. Brad lobbed an empty cotton candy cone into the trash. "I see a few empty coolers," he said. "You've both done an excellent job. I'm very pleased."

"Ah—of course," Kravitz said, cheeks heating. The undershirt didn't count; he was half-naked in front of his boss. He'd taken care to never dress down for work, and now Brad was seeing the sweat stains beneath his armpits. "We've done a roaring trade."

He scrambled for his button-down and Carey laughed. "Hey Krav, I got you a tee too." She lobbed it at his head. "We saw you frying earlier, both literally and figuratively, when we ran past with the first group. This is our second lap."

Kravitz pulled the shirt on, grateful that he wasn't going to be made to take pictures in his underthings. The pink was just as much as a compliment to his dark skin as it was to Brad's forest-green and Carey's teal. They looked like a matched set, and Kravitz was pettily pleased that Taako had been left out.

“Okay,” Killian said, hefting her camera, “so I’m gonna back up and get one of the full booth with the banner, and then I’m thinking a couple of Taako and Kravitz with the food.”

Taako pushed back mixed feelings as Kravitz pulled the t-shirt over his head. _Good. Dammit._ He pushed his hair into place and smiled as Killian backed up and shot the photos of the booth.

“Alright, gentlemen, scoot in! Act like you like each other!” Brad insisted jovially. Taako inched toward Kravitz, holding a corndog with a tight smile. _Take the damn picture._

“A bit tighter if you can, boys,” Killian called. Taako shuffled in a bit closer. _Come on._

Carey stepped forward and pushed the two together, picking up Taako’s left arm and Kravitz’s right and wrapping them around each other’s shoulders. “Come on boys, say ‘teamwork!’” she sang as she scooted out of the picture.

“Teamwork,” Taako groused. _Touching._ Wouldn’t Kravitz love that. Taako’s arm around those perfect shoulders. As soon as Killian lowered the camera, Taako dropped his arm and scooted away, not quite able to shake the thrill of feeling the taut muscles beneath Kravitz’s t-shirt.

Kravitz dearly hoped the camera wouldn't show his blush. Without thinking, he unscrewed the cider he'd posed with and took a long draught to banish the feeling of Taako's body pressed against his.

Fine. The elf was attractive. He could reconcile that with the facts; Taako was also petty, obnoxious, and every inch a disruption to Kravitz's already-overwhelming life. And let it not be forgotten that the fault for this entire dreadful day could be placed squarely on his (shapely, sloping) shoulders. Thus, Taako had planted himself as an obstacle between Kravitz and higher pay, better hours, and _romance._

"Alright, this looks pretty good," Killian said, showing Brad the screen. He nodded. "I've got more photos to snap, so I'll catch up with you guys later."

"See you, honey," Carey said. She hopped up to give Killian a quick peck on the cheek. "Have fun!"

“Would you two care for me to step in?” Brad asked, leaning over the table. “I imagine you might be hungry for something other than corndogs by now. You’ve certainly earned a break.”

Taako gratefully relinquished the fryer to Brad with a quick corndog tutorial—_in, wait, out._ Unlike Kravitz, Brad couldn’t possibly fuck this up. He escaped the booth with promises to be back in half an hour, and admonitions to text if Brad ran into trouble.

He waited until he had meandered off a safe distance, then pulled out his phone. **Miss you, wish I was with you instead of at work :(** he typed. He wandered through the crowd, stretching his legs.

It felt good to be out of the booth for a while, the heat in there was _oppressive._ Obviously having Kravitz out of his face was even better. Kravitz and his sweaty undershirt and his sexy arms his whole smile situation. Taako had never noticed Kravitz’s smile before. Or maybe he’d never seen it. And he wasn’t going to go looking over his shoulder for it now; this was a Kravitz-less break. Taako was a free elf.

Kravitz slunk out of the booth well after Taako and ducked into the port-a-potty nearby, for lack of better options for privacy. The bathrooms in the surrounding businesses had clear signage that they were for paying customers only and he hadn't gotten his overtime money yet.

He used the facilities and then tucked his elbows in and pulled out his phone, doing his utmost to not touch any of the smelly, hot plastic around him. **I miss you very much too,** he typed, gratified to see a message waiting for him. **I wish we hadn’t needed to reschedule our plans, but I’m grateful we were able to. How is work going?**

Taako wandered past colorful booths filled with the usual assortment of t-shirts, food and drink, and bright plastic accessories. His phone buzzed in his hand, and he smiled down at his phone as he read the new message.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
I miss you very much too   
  
I wish we hadn’t needed to reschedule our plans, but I’m grateful we were able to. How is work going?   
  
It’s a mixed bag, it’s going really well but I’ve gotta deal with that one dude I told you about. I think he’s trying to be difficult, idk I’ve given him several chances to act like an adult but he just wants to pick at me (Face With Rolling Eyes ) doesn’t matter though, will you be around tonight and we can talk some more?   
  


The sooner this was over the better, so he could go home, de-stress, and talk to Trautonium_Corvid. He smiled again and bought himself a shaved ice.

**I would love to talk more tonight,** Kravitz typed, juggling his phone and the half-empty bottle of hand sanitizer provided. **I'm sorry you've been having so much trouble with your employee. Sometimes personalities simply don't gel. I doubt you've done anything to deserve the way he treats you.**

Kravitz pushed open the door and braved the crowd again, squinting in the sunlight. Brad and Carey were at the booth, handing out corndogs, and he spotted Taako getting shaved ice. Damn, that would have been one of the few things he could afford to splurge on, but he wasn’t going near Taako any sooner than he absolutely had to. **Do you know when you get out of work?** he typed, ducking behind the row of port-a-potties. It smelled terrible,so it was likely no one would disturb him.

**Depends on how long cleanup takes, I think like 5,** Taako sent back. The shaved ice was sweet and cold, and Kravitz was nowhere to be seen. Good. They’d be forced back into the booth soon enough.

**Thanks for saying that, I know some folks find all of this a lot to handle but you’re right, hostility is a bit much, probably a him problem. You always know what to say (Face Throwing A Kiss )** he typed. He quickly finished his shaved ice and headed for the port-a-potties. Oh, perfect, no line, only a handful of folks nearby. He’d just make a quick pit stop and stretch his legs a bit more before heading back.

Kravitz moved to be more fully in the shade from the toilets so he could dim his phone screen. He didn’t want the battery dying on him.

Taako stepped out of that port-a-potty, reeking of hand sanitizer. Ugh. _But who will sanitize the bottle?_ he thought idly. He pulled out his phone again as he strolled off.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
You always know how to cheer me up too, love. I’m very excited by the prospect of further conversation. I’m glad you have this Saturday night off. You’ve been working so hard and you deserve a break.   
You deserve a break too! You’re juggling so much, promise me you’ll eat something good and relax a little tonight. If I could I’d cook for you, but this’ll have to do for now (Sparkling Heart ) I’ll talk to you tonight, handsome   
  


He checked himself out in the front facing camera for a moment. Gods, his tongue was blue from the shaved ice, like a little kid. Hilarious! He headed back toward the booth, hoping Brad and Carey hadn’t burned it down in his absence.

**I promise I'll find something to eat. Talk to you tonight,** Kravitz typed. He stared at the little heart emoji on his screen for a long moment before sending back **<3**

Taako was already at the booth when Kravitz emerged from his hiding place. He steeled himself and crossed the road, sliding through the crowd of walkers. “I’m back,” he said to Brad, rounding the table to take his place again. “Thanks for taking over.”

“It’s no trouble! You two are doing excellently. I’ll be interested to see how this impacts business. Many of the customers seemed eager to try our other offerings,” Brad answered.

Taako shuffled past Brad to evaluate the state of his fryer. “That’s awesome,” he replied. “Here’s hoping they come in and keep us busy! You two have fun out there, we got it.” Taako was more than ready to get the rest of this day done. At least he did feel a little better after messaging Trautonium_Corvid. Truth be told, Taako worried about him sometimes. The man was in school and working and practicing all the time. He was gonna run himself ragged. Lately he’d seemed a little stressed, too, though it was hard to tell. Trautonium_Corvid never seemed to use emojis—except today’s sweet, old-school heart.

Taako took a breath. Welp, back to dealing with Kravitz. He’d try to be civil, but damned if this dude didn’t get under his skin.

Carey gave Kravitz a sweaty, enthusiastic hug around his middle before she darted back into the crowd, likely to find her girlfriend. He waved goodbye after her and turned back to his work. "Taako," he said. "Is everything still in order? Do we look to have enough stock for the next... three hours?"

Three hours. Kravitz was already exhausted. His stomach felt simultaneously sour and ravenous. He really should’ve eaten something other than a corndog for lunch. Hopefully he wouldn’t be ill when it came time to talk to T_sizzle.

“If you think you may run out of anything, let me know soon,” Brad said. “I’m going to attend to the store so we’re not sitting closed all day, but I can bring you a few things before I open. Or Carey may be able to.”

Taako looked over the supply of corndogs. “We should be okay, unless all hell breaks loose,” he answered. “Three more hours… phew. More than half done, huh?” That break had really helped cool him down a bit, for sure the shaved ice had. The booth was just so close, the fryer and two bodies heated it up to sweltering in a hurry. It was _exhausting_. He forced a smile. “Let’s do this thing, I guess.”

“Right,” Kravitz agreed, trying to tear his eyes away from Taako’s smile. He didn’t have a good reason to be staring at Taako’s (pert, shiny) lips—no, his _tongue,_ Kravitz was looking at his tongue because it was blue. A perfectly valid thing to take notice of. “More than half done.”

Just three more hours, and then he could spend a quiet evening with T_sizzle.


	6. Take Me With You/I start to miss you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako and Kravitz have a very dignified and PG-rated evening alone together (they sext).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're not here for explicit content, you might want to skip to chapter 7 right after Taako calls Kravitz "eager" =)

Later that afternoon, Taako dragged himself up to his apartment and shoved his key in the door. He was tired, he was grody and drenched in sweat and smelled like fryer oil, but he was home, finally, and away from Kravitz’s grouchy ass. “Hey Lup, I’m h—_Jesus Fantasy Christ_ what the fuck?”

Staring him down as he entered the room was an _army_—or maybe like a _handful_, now that he looked closer—of mannequin heads, each extremely the worse for wear. They were sallow, bruised up, _waxy,_ some appeared to have something that you’re deffo supposed to get shots for. They were _awful,_ and they were _in his apartment._

“Uh, yeah, you’ve met my homework, huh? Yay!” Lup said with a little mock cheer. “That’s the not safe for normies thing I meant, I’m supposed to figure out how to make these, uhhh, less horrifying? I’ve got it mostly on lock but tomorrow Barry’s coming over to help me study. And then, y’know, ideally? ‘Help me study’,” she said, tracing air quotes around the last phrase.

Taako groaned, then wrapped a sweaty arm around her in a hug. Long day. “Good for you, I’ll be _out,_ like in another _state_ or something, gross,” he teased. “I gotta shower. You know there’s weirdos out there running around in the heat for _fun?”_

“Wack. At least you’ve got me, a normal person, around,” Lup teased.

Taako laughed. “Suuuuure,” he laughed, giving her a last quick squeeze and heading for the shower.

Only a couple miles away, Kravitz fumbled open the lock to his apartment. The door clattered shut behind him, plunging the room into darkness. He sighed and rubbed his face. His hands came away greasy with fryer oil. He hadn’t gone near the damn thing. He licked his lips and tasted salty sweat.

He was exhausted and disgusting and definitely smelled. What sadist invented summer? Far too many people had been perfectly happy to roast in the sun and and gorge themselves on corndogs. Kravitz didn’t understand a single one of them. At least the coolers had been nearly empty when Brad resurfaced to load them into his truck and drive back to the store. They had expertly anticipated demand.

He would feel much better about this ordeal when the funds were in his account. And after a much-needed shower. He slumped his way to the bathroom and squeezed into the stall. The water pressure was terrible, but the spray reached every corner of the tiny box. Kravitz could lean his forehead on the wall under the showerhead while supporting his weight with his butt against the opposite wall.

After several minutes of slouching in his shower in the dark like some kind of aquatic bat, he felt rejuvenated enough to work shampoo into his scalp. He’d let his dreads become too saturated to really let shampoo get in there, unfortunately. He slacked off on running suds down them, but he scrubbed his scalp with his fingernails and rinsed thoroughly.

If not for the glow from turning his phone screen on, impatient to get back to T_sizzle, he might have grabbed his shaving cream instead of his hair oil from the bathroom counter. No new messages were waiting for him. Disappointingly, none appeared while he oiled and retwisted his locs.

**I’m home,** he typed, using his phone’s flashlight to pick a ready-made meal out of his freezer. He’d had his fill of light for the day and a headache was mounting between his eyes. **Showered and everything. Drip drying in my kitchen, in fact. One of the perks of living alone.**

He extracted something from Michelina’s that came in a box with the pretense of being beef stroganoff. From experience he knew the meat was far closer to salted and burnt rubber, but it was cheap, and he’d surely lost enough salt today that it wouldn’t hurt.

Taako stepped into the shower. Oh, _fuck_ yes. That was better already. Back in his own space, no stony silence and glares, just pleasantly hot water and clean smells. His apartment at least had a generally chaotic sort of peace to it. It wasn’t peaceful like _silent,_ definitely not, or like _inactivity,_ it was just a space where he and Lup lived their lives in all their wild fullness, and he worked hard to carve that out, they both did. It was always a little loud and busy, but the raised voices were playful, the fights were with pillows, and the insults were forgiven and made up quickly.

It had been wearing on him more than he knew to be around whatever chip was on Kravitz’s shoulder. It was _different._ Kravitz’s grudge was slow moving and enduring like a glacier, not like the flashpaper spats he and Lup got into, burning hot and then gone before they hit the ground.

Taako pondered this as he fingercombed conditioner through his hair. Wonder if Kravitz had, like, people? Family? Huh.

He finished up rinsing the conditioner out, turned off the shower, and wrapped himself in a fluffy towel. A good towel at 70% off was worth like, three shitty towels, _facts._ He towel dried his hair, too, and then wandered back to his room where he’d left his phone to find a message from Trautonium_Corvid. Oh, _jealous._

**Mmmmm, wish I was there to see that! I can’t here with my roomie but I’ve got a fluffy towel so all good. How was your afternoon?** he typed. He sighed happily and started to pull out some clothes. He should probably fix something for dinner. Pork chops, maybe, braise ‘em in white wine, season ‘em with herbs. That’ll be real good.

**I wish I could see you too, roommate notwithstanding.** Kravitz smiled to himself, picturing T_sizzle in a fluffy towel. That seemed like his kind of thing; something soft and nice and sweet. T_sizzle was always sweet.

**My afternoon was stressful. I’m working on dinner now. Beef stroganoff.** He left out the fact that said beef stroganoff was being heated in the microwave, and that the only preparation he’d do would be to take it out, stir it, and pop it back in. And that maybe it would still have chunks of ice at the center, while the noodles on the edges burnt and melted to the cardboard.

Feeling inspired—and maybe a little ill from the corndog lunch—Kravitz dug frozen peas out of his freezer. He was going to eat a vegetable like an adult, dammit.

T_sizzle  
  
Beef stroganoff sounds tasty. (White Medium Small Square ≊ White Medium-Small Square) I’m gonna make some pork chops, I think, there was a sale on ‘em.   
  
I’m sorry about your afternoon, any way I can make it better?   
  


Taako headed to the kitchen and pulled out ingredients for the pork chops. He glanced over. The mannequin heads were _staring at him_ from the bookcase. “Lup, can you uhhh do something about your entourage, here? Dinner’s in forty-five,” he said. He was not gonna be able to eat with them just, like, _watching._

Lup laughed. “Yeah, I’ll move ‘em,” she answered. “I’ll need ‘em out tomorrow but I’m good for right now.” She started clearing them away, gathering up materials to stow out of sight for now. “Smells good!” she commented cheerily, lifting one of the heads to her shoulder. “Check it: two heads, _uggggggghhhhh.”_

Taako laughed and shook his head. “I can’t stand you,” he said, his tone speaking the exact opposite.

“You love me,” she called back as she left the room. Taako snickered. True.

Kravitz tried to rip a corner off the bag of frozen peas while juggling his phone. He realized a moment too late that this was a catastrophically stupid plan. The bag burst and peas scattered everywhere, bouncing all over the counter and the floor and his bare toes.

He cursed and danced back, skidding to a halt when his cellphone lit up with a new message. He stood there, peas under his bare feet, while he typed back. **I don’t suppose we can spend some, shall we say, “quality time” together? I really am rather stressed, and your company would make it better.**

The damp peas squished between his toes. He screwed his eyes shut. His kitchen was a mess, and he didn’t even own a broom, just a handheld vacuum that barely functioned. **There is a possibility that I could be talked into visiting your apartment, even if that’s not in line with “first date rules”. If that’s on the table.**

He wanted to _escape._ Let him be anywhere but here, in this empty, messy apartment, with only a foul microwave meal to comfort him. Let him be in his love’s arms.

Taako read the message and sucked in a breath. Fuck, that was _tempting._ He could just bring Trautonium_Corvid here, curl up together on the couch, maybe, throw on some Netflix and...well? But his home was, kinda necessarily, infested with deceased mannequins, which Lup needed to succeed, evidently.

So how would that go; he’d bring the guy here, to this weirdness, maybe he stays the night and then in the morning, even more mannequin fun _and_ Lup flirting with a boy, too? Untenable.

T_sizzle  
  
I wish, I’m so sorry, the roomie thing is a lot more than I expected. I promise it’ll be cool by our date next weekend but I can’t put you through this weirdness :( I can text though, take your mind off of it?   
  


“Maybe there’s something to be said for living alone,” Kravitz huffed to the peas as he tried to corral them with paper towels. He gave up on crouching and moved to his hands and knees, deeply uncomfortable with how his balls dangled. What would T_sizzle say if he saw him like this? Not good things, surely.

In the end, he sacrificed his peaceful darkness for the harsh fluorescence of the overhead light so he could track down all the peas. By the time he was ready to pop a bowl in the microwave, his stroganoff had already gone cold. He couldn’t fit both the bowl and the tray, so he sat with his bare ass on a plastic folding chair and crunched noodles unhappily while he watched the remaining peas cook.

I would love to keep texting, if it would serve to distract you from your roommate’s “weirdness”. I would ask what she’s doing, but I was hoping you’d be interested in more...prurient matters.   
  


Taako flipped the pork chops in the pan. He let out a sigh of relief. Dodged a bullet, Taako was not looking forward to explaining “my sister’s going into death care, our home is currently sporting a fun haunted house”. He paused to google ‘prurient’—excellent, it did mean ‘horny’—and composed a reply: **For sure, for starters: what would you want if we could be together tonight? If I could take you home with me?**

Kravitz’s heart kicked so hard he nearly aspirated a noodle. **I suppose I would be the guest, but I’d want to do whatever you wanted to do. I’d want to show my appreciation for your hospitality. Ideally, with plenty of touching.**

Taako slid the chops onto a plate and added more wine to deglaze the pan. He hummed happily. **Been thinking about kissing you** he typed. **Thinking about having you in my arms, I’m sure you’re super hot but my hands’ll need to learn how you’re hot and how you like to be touched.**

Kravitz was momentarily unsure how he’d like being touched. He hadn’t really enjoyed any of his past attempts at relationships.

That sounds perfect to me. I’ve been thinking about kissing you all day, and I would greatly appreciate a hug. Would I be invited to your bed?   
  


Taako finished up the sauce and poured it over the chops. He smiled. Sounded like he and Trautonium_Corvid were on the same page. But asking for a hug that way? Poor guy, he sounded so lonely and stressed. Did Trautonium_Corvid have people? A family? Huh.

T_sizzle  
  
I’m all about hugging. At least for you I am (Smiling Face With Heart-Shaped Eyes ) and you’re definitely invited to my bed, but we can take it as slow as you want. You’re a treasure, you deserve to be treated like one <3   
  


Gods, T_sizzle’s flirting was destroying him. Kravitz needed to step up his game. He tried to drain the microwaved peas into the sink through a large fork, losing several, and dumped them in with his cold stroganoff. Hopefully their temperatures would equalize.

I don’t feel like going slow today. Call me impatient, but I think I would want to see you naked in your sheets. What are you doing right now, love?   
  


Taako set the plates down on the table. Pork chops were delicious, he’d made sure of it for these, but he wondered what Trautonium_Corvid tasted like. He pulled out some leftover rolls from the previous night, those would be nice. “Lup, dinner!” he called, then picked up his phone.

T_sizzle  
  
I’d like that. I’m thinking about you right now. I hope you like what you’ll see. Some folks seem to think it’s nice ;) would you like to lay in my soft bed and have me kiss you into the mattress, for a start? Would you like me to fuck you?   
  


Kravitz tossed his empty dinner tray into the bin and his fork into the sink. He flipped the lights back off and practically scampered to his room, throwing himself down on the bed with his cellphone in hand.

He liked his sheets. They were slate grey, soft from dozens of washes, and smelled like his favorite cologne and coconut oil. He had satin pillowcases and a thick, warm duvet. He wriggled to get comfortable and grinned at his phone.

Love, you’re the hottest person I’ve ever met. I know I’ll like what I see. Especially when you’re fucking me in your bed. I want to be buried face down in your pillows. I want to be good for you.   
  


Taako made short work of dinner. It was delicious, he was starving, and Lup didn’t seem to mind, she was eager to get back to homework. He cleared his dishes away and headed back to his room, leaving Lup to whatever makeup-adjacent fuckery she needed to do. He flopped on his bed. He hadn’t made it that morning; the blankets were rumpled and comfy.

He laid back against the pillows, one knee up and one sideways. **I wanna press my fingers into you first, get you good and slick and ready for me.** He hesitated. **Won’t need lube, just magic, baby, I’ll take care of you myself.**

Not _licensed_ magic, obviously, that license shit was a lot of expensive red tape. And that was _kiiiiinda_ what had gotten him expelled from culinary school. Turns out “unlicensed” magic was “cheating” and a “safety hazard”, apparently, and for sure something that schools cared about while investigating a sabotage case in which Taako was the _victim,_ thanks. But he had the moral high ground! Transmuting cheap, accessible ingredients to feed more people at higher quality was a _good_ thing, it helped people.

It’s just that the people it helped weren’t wealthy enough to be on a college ethics board. But this? No one would rat him out for this, and he trusted Trautonium_Corvid.

**I always forget that you’re magic,** Kravitz typed with one hand, stroking his thigh with the other. One quick shower and a meal and he was already feeling chilly. He almost missed the heat of the day. Not with the intensity that he could imagine the heat from T_sizzle’s body, of course. **Or rather, your magic, to me, is in your wit and cleverness and kindness. The fact that you can shape reality to your whim escapes my notice, in light of everything else special about you.**

Taako smiled. That was sweet. **Awww (Face Throwing A Kiss )** he typed. **I kinda keep it mostly lowkey anyhow, it’s kinda like being the guy with a truck otherwise, everyone suddenly wants help moving **(Face With Stuck-Out Tongue And Tightly-Closed Eyes ) **it does make things easier sometimes though, and it could make you feel real good** (Aubergine ≊ Eggplant)(Splashing Sweat Symbol ≊ Sweat Droplets) ;)>

He hesitated before sending his next message.

T_sizzle  
  
You keep sweet talking me that way and I’ll have to lock my door and get rid of some of these clothes(Smirking Face )   
  
I’m ahead of you there.   
  
I never got dressed after showering. I’m in bed and increasingly entertained by the prospect of you, and I, and a comfortable room with some privacy.   
  
I would very much like you to join me. May I help make you feel good too, love?   
  
Ooh eager ;)   
  


Taako got up to lock his door, slipped his shorts down, and kicked them off. He tossed his phone onto the bed and grabbed the back of his shirt to pull it over his head, dropping it on top of the shorts. He flopped back down on the bed and picked up his phone again. **I’m naked now too in my bed. Thinking about getting you in here is turning me on already, sexy**. His hand drifted along his upper thigh, teasing closer and closer to his cock.

Kravitz blushed, reading that T_sizzle was turned on by something he so desperately wanted. **Soon. Next weekend, fate permitting. I’m certainly eager for you.**

He gripped his cock and gave it a few slow pumps. His hand was cold enough to be unpleasant, but he stirred at the touch anyway, skin tightening as his cock slowly filled. **I’m thinking about what it would feel like if you pinned me down in your bed.**

Taako wrapped his hand around his own cock. Now that was an image he wanted in his brain, after a day full of, let’s just be honest, quite a few weird images. The idea of Trautonium_Corvid under him, held down in his bed and filled with his cock had him hardening _fast._ He stroked his cock a bit, relaxed, easing into the fantasy. No need to rush. **Mmmm, that’ll feel so good, and you’ll be so perfect. I can do that this weekend, I can’t wait to feel you around me. I bet you’re absolutely stunning when you’re turned on baby, I wanna see.**

**Soon**, Kravitz promised again. T_sizzle knew that he never sent photos. He emphatically did not need to know that this was because Kravitz’s camera lens was cracked from ill-advised shenanigans in twelfth grade. He had attempted to jury-rig a camera stand so he could film himself playing the bassoon. Over the concrete floor of the band hall, after school, with yarn stolen from home economics. It was all very embarrassing.

**I want to feel you inside of me.** Kravitz reached for his lube on the nightstand. He put his phone down just long enough to generously coat his fingers. **I want to see what you look like when you slide in. I want to see pleasure writ across your features. Do you want to guess what I’m doing right now?**

He swept some lube over his cock, then teased his hole with one fingertip, imagining T_sizzle’s warmth between his legs.

Taako stifled a moan. He mumbled a spell quickly, the slick lube comfortably coating his cock. **Gods I hope it’s touching yourself, are you gonna wring yourself out thinking of me? I’ve got my hand on my cock and I’m aching for you babe**, he typed. Thank fuck he locked his door. He set his mind to imagining what Trautonium_Corvid might look like. Probably nice shoulders. Wrists perfect for wrapping his hands around. A spectacular ass, surely. But most of all eager to do all kinds of filthy things right here in Taako’s bed.

**I am.** Kravitz slid one finger inside himself, cursing the angle. He really needed someone else’s hands for this. He couldn’t get deep enough without straining his wrist. **I’m working myself open, just the way that I hope you will. Though I also want to stroke your cock for you.**

His own cock sat neglected, heavy against his thigh. He would have to put his phone down to touch it. Priorities!

**Oh baby, I promise I will. You’ll moan so pretty for me. We don’t have to go slow if you’re eager but I’ll make sure it feels good for you. What will you do with your hands, I wonder? Touch me or hold on or let me hold them down?** Taako typed with difficulty. He was getting more and more aroused with each message and each drag of his hand along his cock. Fuck, he wished he had this man here and now.

**You don’t have to go slow with me, love**, Kravitz typed, sliding in a second finger to the knuckle. He spread himself open and relished the stretch, imagining getting to feel this while his hands were pinned above his head. **I’m in the mood for you to hold me down and take me. I know you’ll make me feel cherished.**

_Cherished._ Gods. **You should feel cherished, worshipped even, and I’ll hold you down and fuck you til can’t think straight. I’ll make you moan my name and nail you to the bed til you’re spent**, Taako sent back, working his cock feverishly. He imagined Trautonium_Corvid’s back arching in pleasure, babbling and moaning with his hands held down. _Hot._

Kravitz nearly dropped his phone. Every word from T_sizzle made his toes curl. He didn’t know how badly he needed this in his life until it was right in front of him. **Yes. Yes, please, that’s what I want. Can you finish like that? I want to feel you come inside of me while I’m sated and pinned under your weight.**

He balanced his phone on his thigh, where he could see the screen, and gripped his cock. Even that touch was almost too much, with how wound up he was. He built to a firm, slow pace, relaxing into the pillows as pleasure washed through his body and unwound the tension in his muscles.

Taako shuddered. Gods, he was _close,_ that was _hot._ **Yes babe, yes, I’ll come so hard in you and hold you close and praise you, I’m getting so close right now, you’re so sexy**, he sent. He stifled a moan against the back of his wrist, phone dangling beside his chin. Soon, soon he could touch that smooth skin and murmur sweet words into Trautonium_Corvid’s ear, tell him how good and sexy he was. He wasn’t gonna last much longer this way.

The promise of praise was too much for Kravitz. He bit out a terrifically embarrassed moan and threw his head back. T_sizzle deserved his best, but he was so close that his cock was leaking. His hips snapped up into his fist involuntarily. **May I come, love? Or should I wait for you?**

Oh _fuck._ **I’m there babe, come, you’re so fucking good**, Taako managed before dropping his phone beside him to muffle his moan as he spilled into his hand. _Fuck,_ that was intense. He panted a moment before muttering a spell to clean up. He picked up his phone again. **You’re so amazing, you make me feel so good baby.**

**That’s all I want. You deserve to feel good.** Kravitz let his phone slide off his thigh. He bucked his hips into his hand hard, just a few quick thrusts before his release hit him like a brick wall. He came with a strangled cry and sunk back into the mattress.

He wriggled onto his side and curled up around his phone with a dazed smile, locs pooled on the pillow behind him and cum streaked across his stomach. **I’m finished. I feel wonderful, and it’s all because of you. I wish I could kiss you right now.**

Taako smiled fondly at his phone. **You deserve to feel good, too, as good as you make me feel. I wanna kiss you and hold you close and safe in my bed. I wanna pull covers over us and tell you over and over how amazing and gorgeous you are** (Smiling Face With Heart-Shaped Eyes ) he typed.

Taako thought a moment. Assuming it went well on Saturday, assuming they hit it off, assuming, assuming…

T_sizzle  
  
Will you stay, on Saturday? I can make us breakfast in the morning <3   
  
Yes. Of course I’ll stay. Nothing would make me happier.   
  


Kravitz’s screen dimmed as a low battery warning popped up. He flicked it off, plunging the room into darkness. He groped around for his charging cord. Without the comfort of T_sizzle’s presence, he could no longer ignore the distant voices and footsteps of his neighbors moving around their apartments. Or how sticky and slick he was. Lube was running down the curve of his butt. He levered himself clear of his sheets and grabbed something out of the laundry to wipe off with.

A pang of regret twanged in his chest. Reality wasn’t as palatable as the fantasy of being in T_sizzle’s arms. He was alone in his shitty student apartment, sponging cum up with an old sock after wanking. And he’d done this instead of practicing his violin or studying.

He wanted to be kissed and held close and safe under the covers. He wanted to be as amazing and gorgeous as T_sizzle thought he was. But he didn’t have those things yet, and it was too much to hope he was fated for them.

The screen brightened as he plugged his phone in and, reflexively, his lips curved into a smile. **I really hope next Saturday goes well. I know you’re gorgeous, love, and I can’t wait to meet you properly.**

Taako laid in his bed, grinning at the screen. He usually didn’t go straight for big emotions like this, he usually held folks out a little further. Except Lup, but that was different. Trautonium_Corvid, though, had wormed his way into Taako’s heart, and at a time when he’d been really vulnerable and mistrustful. He’d never pushed or badgered Taako for nudes, or sent unwanted dick pics. He’d said he wanted someone to talk to, and even though Taako hadn’t told him what all went down at school, he’d been a nice distraction at first. Then, somehow, more.

He should get up. He should do something, it was still early enough to do something, but he was tired from the day out in the heat and still a little glowy from coming. So he stayed put for the moment, mooning over the watermarked stock photo of a violin that served as a placeholder for the man he’d meet next Saturday. **I can’t wait, either. It’ll be so good to finally get you in my arms, handsome. Fair warning, though I cuddle like a mofo ;)**

**Cuddling sounds spectacular**, Kravitz typed. **You can have anything you want from me. I trust you.**

Giving in to the sticky feeling, Kravitz stumbled back to the bathroom for a quick rinse. If he was going to be jelly-legged in bed, he was going to do it without having to worry about smearing cum or lube on his sheets.

Just one more week before he could fall asleep with the man he’d been pining over for months. He could survive anything for a week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the AU where Taako invites Kravitz over to face Lup's horde of disfigured mannequin heads: do they bone down or not


	7. Failure is Your Disease/you want my outline drawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bounce a dime off that sexual tension and it'll go straight into your eye.

Monday morning saw Taako heading back into work, gearing up for the doors to open and for Kravitz, specifically, to open them. He had already come up with the sandwich of the day—he’d actually woken to find that he’d ordered Siri to remind him about cranberry relish three times, and decided to combine it with chicken and slices of pear—and now all he had to do was start prepping.

And ignore the fact that Kravitz would be there.

And also ignore the fact that his traitor body apparently _ enjoyed _ Kravitz being there.

Taako sighed and fired off a quick message to Trautonium_Corvid: **Morning, darling, sleep well? :***

Kravitz made himself finish setting up the register before snatching up his phone. **I did,** he typed, glancing furtively at the kitchen door despite the fact that Taako was doubtlessly too busy to harangue him, and there was no one else in the building. **Did you sleep well too? How did your roommate’s thing end up going?**

Taako put the finishing touches on a sandwich for display and started checking over the trays of cheese when his phone buzzed. He chuckled. How did it go? He had awkwardly slipped out the door about the time Lup hit play on some sort of bluesy, horny-sounding playlist and insinuated herself into Barry’s arms, assuring him that yeah, she had no trouble with covering bruises, which were basically the same thing as hickeys, sooooo… it went great?

**I always sleep well thinking of you :* I think the roomie thing turned out pretty well, she was pleased anyhow** he replied. Was she ever. Taako had a feeling he might be seeing more of Study Buddy Barry in the future.

He slid his phone back into his pocket and took the trays out to the front. “Hey,” he said simply by way of greeting. He quickly freshened up the displays, not really looking to walk all the way into the minefield that was talking to Kravitz too early in the morning.

“Hello,” Kravitz said, determinedly pecking at the computer keyboard like he hadn’t been on his phone the moment before Taako emerged from the kitchen. “Our delivery boy should be here soon; are the rest of the orders ready to go?” Most of the orders were for nonperishables—bottles of wine and liquor, chiefly. Easy to throw together during spare moments throughout the week. Normally, Kravitz would prepare everything himself, but with Taako taking over the kitchen, the antipasto and cheese selection had become his problem.

Kravitz was almost ready to admit to himself that, for all the increased traffic, Taako’s presence actually made his job easier. Almost.

He was quite a bit less willing to forgive losing the schedule change.

Taako finished refilling the last display. “They’re almost done, I’ll have them ready to go when he is,” he replied. Hmmm. This wasn’t an ideal, but certainly a livable communication level for the time being. He picked up the empty trays and headed back to the kitchen. This could go okay, knock on wood.

The ugliest car known to any god or man rolled up as Kravitz wheeled a dolly loaded with boxes out the front door. Right on schedule. He waved and waited for the driver to crank the window down.

“Hello, sir!” Angus McDonald grinned from the driver’s seat. The car spluttered ominously. “Thanks for having everything ready so promptly!”

The reason Angus’s grandfather had purchased _ this _car was lost long before Angus was born. It was painted a dull silver. Everything else about it was an assault on the senses and an insult to aesthetic. Made in the 70s, it was, miraculously, no more dysfunctional than it had ever been as a vehicle. Kravitz watched Angus do an eight-point turn to swing the oddly-sloped trunk towards the front door. The long, flat nose of the hood barely cleared the neighboring cars.

Angus might be Kravitz’s favorite coworker. He was adorable, charming, and diligent to a fault. Customers loved him. Kravitz had always thought he should invest some of his wages into a car made this century, but he insisted his clunky moped was fine for day-to-day driving, and the Gremlin was adequate for deliveries. Everything he made was going into a college fund.

“How was the end of the school year, Angus?” Kravitz called. He politely coughed at the onslaught of foul-smelling exhaust.

“It went pretty well!” Angus turned off the car and popped the trunk before clambering out. “It looks like I’m on track to graduate next year, actually!”

“That’s fantastic, I’m proud of you.” Kravitz beamed. “Is that—two years early?”

“Almost, sir! Taking those community college classes delayed me a little—they’re not required for high school graduation!”

“‘Delayed’.” Kravitz huffed a laugh and started loading the trunk. Angus had shot up like a weed, but his arms were too scrawny to lift whole boxes himself, the way Kravitz loaded them. “We’ll miss you when you leave, Angus. You’re the only thing stopping Brad’s work schedule from being unreasonable for the _ entire _ year.”

“I’ll miss you too, sir! I promise I’ll write. Is this everything for today?”

“Our new chef has the last of it.” Kravitz dusted his hands off and closed Angus’s trunk for him. “Oh, and you should be able to start using the back door to pick up deliveries soon—he’s supposed to clear space in the kitchen for that this week.”

“That sounds great, sir,” Angus said, cheerfully holding the door for Kravitz to wheel the dolly inside.

Kravitz lowered his voice. “Between you and me, our new chef doesn’t seem like the most… reliable person. In that he’s—a bit disruptive. I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t have the last of the orders ready for you yet.”

Angus rolled his eyes. “I’m sure it’s fine! How about I go check?”

“Of course,” Kravitz said, parking the dolly back behind the counter and resuming his station at the register. “If he keeps you waiting, feel free to join me.”

“Sure thing, sir! Thanks!” Angus chirped, disappearing into the kitchen.

Taako was loading the last of the delivery orders into a cooler as the door swung open, admitting Angus. “Hello, sir!” he said brightly.

“Hey, Ango,” Taako answered with a smile. “Got your PhD now? I gotta call you Dr. McDonald yet?”

“Not yet, sir,” Angus answered earnestly, “but I passed all my classes!”

“That’s great, my dude, you keep at it. I’ve got some deliveries for you, you around back or up front?” Taako asked. Angus sure had grown. It seemed like only yesterday that Taako was babysitting him for extra money after school, slapping bandaids over scrapes and hauling out measuring cups to finally get a handle on unit conversions for math class. The kid was almost a man now, and that, frankly, was _ buckwild _.

“I’m out front. Mr. Kravitz said the back door might not be ready,” Angus answered.

Taako rolled his eyes. “I got you, you can come around back next time, I’ll be ready,” he said. Angus having to deal with Kravitz. Ugh. Poor kid shouldn’t have to put up with all that negativity. “You ready for the beach this Sunday? I checked with Lup and she’s got it in her calendar, too.”

“Definitely, sir! Will you make us a picnic?” Angus asked.

Taako snorted with amusement. “You couldn’t stop me if you tried, can’t have the first beach trip of the summer without a picnic.” He thumped the top of the cooler. “You want me to help you get this out there or are you good?”

Angus hefted the cooler experimentally. It was nowhere near as heavy as the boxes of wine bottles and such Kravitz had assembled. “I’ve got it, sir, see you in a bit!” he said cheerily. He carried the cooler back out the door as Taako watched affectionately. What a good kid.

“That was fast,” Kravitz remarked. He left off restocking the novelty mugs to hold the front door open for Angus. “Did things go well with Taako?”

“Of course they did, sir,” Angus said. “He’s very good at his job!”

“I suppose.” Kravitz popped Angus’s trunk for him. “Do you still have that box cutter in your car? I may have been a bit excessive with the tape when I closed these up.”

“Yes sir!” Angus said. “I’ve got everything.”

“We might need you back as soon as tomorrow. We’re experiencing an influx of orders.”

Angus smiled and clicked the trunk shut. “I can manage that! My caseload is light right now. Did people really like the booth you and Taako ran at the marathon?”

“...So it would seem,” Kravitz admitted. “Our inbox is stuffed.”

“I’m glad to hear it, sir! Mr. Bradson will be very happy.”

“Yes, he will. Well, I’d better get back to the counter. I shouldn’t leave Taako alone in the shop.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” Angus said, clambering into the cab.

Kravitz lingered in the doorway. “Ah, if you come at around noon, you might be able to try one of Taako’s famous sandwiches. I don’t know what’s on the menu, but they’ve all been—surprisingly good, so far. And that would give me more time to assemble orders. We’re waiting on a shipment for virtually all our Heineken.”

“Sounds great! I hope you have a good afternoon, sir!” Angus called. Then he cranked the window back up and started the engine with a bang. Kravitz retreated into the shop to escape the exhaust.

In the interest of finding out what would be on the menu tomorrow, so he could text Angus, Kravitz poked his head into the kitchen. “How are things?”

“Real well, hey c’mere for two seconds,” Taako answered cautiously. Time to test a theory: Kravitz was always more civil once he’d been _ fed _. Wouldn’t that be a helluva thing, if the guy was just a breakfast skipper or something and that was his whole issue? He picked up a plate with half the sandwich he’d just assembled on it. “Try this for me, will ya? It’s today’s sandwich,” he said, holding it out to Kravitz.

“Oh, I wish I’d known you had this ready. I just recommended that Angus try your sandwiches, but he’s already headed off,” Kravitz said absently, accepting the plate. While the ingredients were largely unidentifiable, the sandwich was still far more appetizing than the dry cereal he’d had for breakfast. “Is this—turkey? What’s the red stuff?”

Taako smiled and picked up the other half of the sandwich. “Close, it’s oven-roasted chicken, with a cranberry relish. There’s pear slices in here too, to kinda balance it. It _ looks _ good and in theory it’s amazing, but I’m biased. Needed a second opinion.”

He took a bite, chewing thoughtfully. It was good, of course it was, he knew that, but buy-in from Kravitz would only boost sales, and if a little food and a stroked ego bought Taako a peaceful workday, that would be a huge bonus.

Plus, he was hot. Fine. But this wasn’t about that. Probably. That was totally irrelevant to two coworkers sharing a sandwich.

“When Angus comes back, I can make him one, or tomorrow’s...mmmmm, probably turkey and swiss,” he said, licking his lips to catch a bit of cranberry. He heard a bell ring out in the front of the shop. “That’s you, huh?”

Kravitz hadn’t had his first bite. He sighed heavily. “Yes, I’ll just take this with me. I’ll let you know when I get a chance to try it.” Taako seemed to genuinely want the feedback. It was…rather nice, actually. That he set aside food to share with Kravitz. That he cared what Kravitz thought.

He actually smiled, a little, as he elbowed open the kitchen door and backed out to the shop floor.

The smile slid off his face as soon as he saw the giant man pawing at the just-restocked novelty mugs with his grubby sausage fingers. Something was going to fall. Kravitz shouldn’t have packed the shelf as tightly as he had. “Can I help you?”

The man startled. One of the mugs teetered off the shelf and plunged to the floor. Kravitz winced and, when no crash came, opened his eyes to see that the man had managed to catch the mug. He put it back on the shelf with a sheepish smile. “Uh, hail and well met. I heard you guys sold food?”

“What else would you call all this, Maggie?” came another voice. A short, bearded old man popped his head out from behind the shelf. “But I can’t find the produce! Don’t you kids eat vegetables anymore, or is that not ‘hip’?”

“We—we don’t sell fresh food,” Kravitz said, sliding his plate behind the register.

Merle shook his head. “You do at least sell booze, I’ll give you that—Magnus, what are you doing?” he asked in exasperation, turning to face Magnus squinting alternately at the labels on two different wine bottles.

Magnus turned a wondering expression on Kravitz. “Are these for real? I thought wine was all grapes, but this one says ‘cherry notes’, is it made of cherries? Cause if true, I’m concerned about this one that says ‘oak’ on it.”

“_No _,” Kravitz said, so exasperated that he forgot his customer service voice. “That is to say—the ‘notes’ are flavors brought out by the fermentation and aging process.”

Magnus re-examined the label with a thoughtful look. “Fermentation? You mean like, with yeast?”

“Like a yeast infection,” Merle chortled.

“Hah, ew!"

Kravitz could not close his eyes and count to ten without being obvious about it. Even so, he dearly wanted to. “Can I help you find anything?”

“Yeah, actually—hey, this cider says it’s got oranges! I thought cider was all apples!”

“Earth to Magnus!” Merle raised his arm arm roughly level with Magnus’s bulging pecs and snapped his fingers. “We were here for sandwiches! Got it on authority that you do sell fresh food here.”

“Ah,” Kravitz said. He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten about Taako’s sandwich initiative when he had just been handed a plate. That tantalizingly now sat behind the register. He could almost smell the cranberry relish. His stomach rumbled. “I don’t think our chef is done preparing them yet. It’s a bit early.”

Magnus’s face fell, then brightened again. “We could go check! Maybe he’ll have like, two of ‘em ready,” he said. He set the bottles back down with an uncomfortably loud rattle and made as if to head for the kitchen door.

Merle reached up and grabbed a beefy wrist. “Mags, maybe this fella will check for us,” he said, just as the kitchen door opened and Taako bustled out.

“Hey, Kravitz, we’re not at like, _ critical_, yet, but an order of provolone would hit the sp—hey, guys!” Taako said. “Whatcha here for, sandwiches or mayhem?”

“Mayhem!” Magnus joked, “with a side of sandwiches.”

Taako snorted. “I didn’t know you guys were gonna come in here or I’d’ve had some ready, they’ll be a minute.”

Merle looked affronted. “Come on, man, we’re your best friends! ‘Course we’re gonna be here!”

Taako smiled. “I’ll get ‘em, try not to wreck this place for like a _ second _, though, okay?”

Kravitz squeezed his eyes shut again. Would everything that went wrong in his days prove to be Taako’s fault? A scraping sound pierced his moue and his eyes flew back open to see Magnus’s head stuck in one of the refrigerated cases, examining the beer. “Is there anything in particular that you’re looking for?”

“You have a _ lot _ of different beer, does it all taste different? Also, what is absinthe? I’ve heard rumors,” Magnus asked, half in and half out of the case.

Merle chuckled. “That’s gonna be a sight,” he muttered. “Hey, I have a question, do you guys have edibles?”

Magnus backed out of the case, not looking where he was going whatsoever. “Only six more months, huh? I’ll have to come back as soon as I’m legal and buy some of this stuff and see if it tastes different.” He picked up a corkscrew from a display and started fiddling with it.

“You can’t even drink,” Kravitz said flatly. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave the alcohol—careful!”

Far Corners was a tiny store packed with full shelves. It was not laid out with someone of Magnus’s size in mind. He backed butt-first into a shelf stacked with boxes of bartending accessories and glass sets. “Oops!”

Kravitz grimaced as the boxes tumbled to the floor. Magnus whipped around, reaching for them, and his back pocket got caught on one of the plastic price displays. The tag snapped off and went flying.

“Watch it, kid!” Merle chuckled. “Way to make like a bull with the china.”

“Sorry, I’ll fix it,” Magnus said, jumbling the boxes into his arms. Kravitz strode forward to help, but Merle was in his way.

“How about those edibles?”

“There are no edibles!” Kravitz snapped. “We don’t sell those! We don’t sell alcohol to the under-aged either, so _ sir_, if you _ please _—”

Taako walked back out to the front of the store, juggling two sandwiches in cute little to-go boxes. “Okay, boys, are you gonna want—_ hachi machi_, Magnus! Don’t move,” he exclaimed frustratedly. Setting the boxes down on the counter, he walked over and checked to see that Magnus was disentangled from anything else that might snag. “Better get those sandwiches and go sit down somewhere ‘fore you knock anything else over, my dude. Merle, you good?” He shooed Magnus toward the more open area near the front counter.

Merle followed after Magnus. “Yeah, I’m good, we’ll pay up and get outta your hair,” he chuckled.

Taako let out a small sigh. Kravitz was gonna throw an entire tantrum, but he was glad the boys had come in. It was sweet.

“Thanks for comin’ in, boys, enjoy those,” he said. “Kravitz, can you ring ‘em up?”

May deliverance be a printed receipt and a closed door. “Yes,” Kravitz said, hurtling back behind the counter. “Is there anything else you need?”

Merle elbowed his way past Magnus. “Naw, not if you don’t have the good kush.”

Kravitz rung up the total while Merle watched serenely. “Were you planning to pay with a card?” Kravitz prompted.

“Ah, yeah,” Merle said, running his fingers through his beard—and lower, into the bushy hairs poking from the collar of his shirt. Kravitz’s mouth contorted in a horrified rictus as Merle fished out a wallet on a lanyard around his neck. “Here we go!”

Kravitz slid the card reader over to him. There was no way he was going to touch something that had come from Merle’s jungle of chest hair. “Thank you, have a nice day, goodbye now.”

The door swung closed behind Magnus and Merle, Taakko having walked/herded them all the way there with assurances that, yes, that sandwiches were good, they’d all hang out soon, maybe see a movie, maybe go to the beach, yes, for sure. Taako blew out a breath as the bell over the door quieted. He looked at Kravitz with a wry grin. “Well, _ that _ went well,” he joked.

“This can’t happen again, Taako.” Kravitz fixed him with a glare fit to melt steel and drew in a breath with the force of pumping bellows. “You’re here to work. Your friends, between them, pawed through everything in the store, knocked over products, broke something, and kept inquiring about drugs! Do I have to explain why that’s _ completely unacceptable? _ No, no I don’t, because you can’t possibly be too stupid to see why I’m right!”

Taako’s jaw dropped. “Those. Were. Customers,” he began, slowly and emphatically and louder by the second. “They are my friends, and they are, on occasion, dumbasses, but they came here to buy things! In a business where you buy—wait, lemme back up, here—they buy things _ and then we get paid_, is how this works! Oh no, my friends are patronizing my place of work, _ sue the fuck out of me!_”

What was Kravitz’s problem? Merle’s card ran, get _ over _ it, but more importantly, “Why exactly am I a target here? I am here to work, which I did and am, _ chill,_” he snapped.

“They did _ not _ spend enough money to be worth putting up with,” Kravitz spat, planting his hands on the counter and leaning forward as he ranted. “This store is not a hang-out zone for your friends. They didn’t come in to purchase our _ normal _ offerings—Magnus can’t even drink! They were only here because of you!”

He drew another breath and realized he was looming between Taako and the door to the kitchen. Deflating, he stepped back. He didn’t have the energy to stay angry. His eyes itched, his throat prickled, and the empty pit of his stomach rolled and clenched. “Just go. I need to clean up after Magnus.”

Taako bristled. How dare Kravitz. There were so many things wrong with what he just said, but first and foremost: Magnus and Merle were more than worth putting up with. For free. They were family, not that Kravitz would understand that. They didn’t come to hang out, they came to support Taako, and also realistically probably because Mags was hungry, as always. Kravitz also clearly didn’t think of Taako as permanent—‘normal offerings’, he said. He watched as Kravitz stepped back, becoming less scary-hot—okay _ wow_—and clearing the path to the kitchen door. Good, Taako had...mixed feelings about moving into that space

“Fine.” It came out flat and emotionless. It was not fine, but it was done. “Let me know how the sandwich is.” He swept past Kravitz into the kitchen.

Kravitz didn’t even watch Taako leave. He crouched down and slammed open a cabinet, haphazardly shoving things aside until he found the superglue. It was best to fix this mess before more customers came in. He could eat later.

Magnus had attempted to restore order to the shelves, but it was clear that he’d had no idea what he was doing. Kravitz carefully opened up the glasses and was relieved to find none broken. He taped them back up, rearranged the shelves, hunted around on the floor for the broken tag holder, and then stood with his thumb pressing it into place while the superglue set. The plastic was foggy from abuse; it would have to do until he could hunt for spares. At least it was still legible.

An elderly couple came in before the glue had quite set, and Kravitz rushed off to help them with their purchases. In the end, he loaded their trunk with a small crate of wine bottles to be gifted to their children. He smiled and waved as they pulled away.

The sandwich was a soggy, lukewarm mess by the time he finally found time for a break. Taako was talented enough that it may well still taste good. Kravitz didn’t want to touch it.

He tipped the plate into the trash and spent the rest of his workday ignoring it in the corner of his eye, stomach rumbling.

Back in the kitchen, Taako pulled out his phone. No new messages. It was fine, he wasn’t in a fit state to be flirty, honestly. He took a few deep breaths. That was...wow. Nothing like that would have happened at his old job, but really? Not for any lack of opportunity. He and Lup had worked together there, and no one wanted to face both of them down.

It was how they operated, covering each other, most often with her protecting and him providing, since they were teeny. Hell, their magic schools even fell in line, self-taught and unlicensed; evocation, for her to step to anyone who threatened them, and transmutation, for him to make sure they had what they needed.

Kravitz wouldn’t have gotten to his second sentence without Lup stepping between them, back to Taako, and the two of them tag-teaming the shit out of him. Taako wasn’t really used to dealing with this type of thing solo. But he could do it, he had to.

He looked at his phone again, then pulled up Lup’s name. **Having a day and a half, bitch sesh 2night???**

A moment later a text came back: **u got an ass I need 2 kick?**

He smiled. **Nah just gotta whine** he typed.

**Coolcool I’ll get wine and pizza so u can chill, love u,** came through a moment later. He grinned and pocketed the phone again. He’d be fine. He went back to work.

Later that night, seated in the practice room, Kravitz finally rediscovered T_sizzle’s last message. Eating a late lunch after getting to campus meant that he was too rushed and starved to have headspace for much. He was hungry now, too. Dollar-menu Fantasy Wendy’s from the student union wasn’t enough to keep him full.

He slumped forward to type with his elbows on the keys and a sad, discordant _fwaaaang _ sound filled the room. **Sorry I disappeared for so long. I was distracted by somewhat stressful matters, but it’s all passed. I’m glad to hear that thinking of me helps you sleep well. My life would be immeasurably better if I could think of nothing but you all day.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*+{BLUPJEANS DATE TRACKER}+*~
> 
> 1) This past Sunday, the 9th of June:  
-Blew each other on the couch while surrounded by disfigured mannequin heads
> 
> ~+*{LOVE METER: 69%(nice)}*+~


	8. Under My Skin/here we go again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako and Kravitz are conscripted. More importantly, they finally have an adult conversation. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?
> 
> (no.)

Taako flicked through his phone, settling on a pop playlist and a comfortable volume as he started his Tuesday morning prep work. He forcefully blinked dry eyes away, stifling a yawn.

Last night, he and Lup had gorged themselves on pizza and cheap wine as he’d vented about Kravitz yelling at him, and she’d filled him in on Barry—evidently this wasn’t the first study date, just the first _horny_ study date. The others had been the actual studying kind and had been going on while. He had gushed a little about Trautonium_Corvid, too, and given the pertinent kite-string details for safety’s sake.

Taako was almost ready to forgive Kravitz for what he’d said about Magnus and Merle. After all, they hadn’t made the best first impression. But he was nowhere near ready to forget. That said, he wasn’t inclined to think about it just now, as he danced his way through prep. Before going out to check over the display cases for gaps, he paused to message Trautonium_Corvid: **Morning, babe, sleep well? Have any fun dreams? ** (Winking Face )(Aubergine ≊ Eggplant)(Splashing Sweat Symbol ≊ Sweat Droplets) He silenced the music, shoved his phone in his pocket, and headed out to the front.

The sudden silence from the kitchen, while disappointing—Kravitz loved a good morning groove—alerted him the moment before Taako walked out. Kravitz had been leaning to snag his phone, but he smoothly changed targets to his computer. He needed to finish the next batch of orders for Angus anyway. Carey had texted that she only got through the first half yesterday afternoon.

Pretending to be absorbed in his work, he ignored Taako and browsed the spreadsheet of products he’d need to pull. Honestly, his workload was a lot lighter now. Taako arrived at the store an hour before he did and took care of half the opening duties and all the food prep. If Kravitz was able to study at the counter like he used to, the arrangement would be perfect.

But he couldn’t let Taako catch him ‘slacking off’, so he was at a loss to replace the missing study time. This would become a real problem in the fall, when he went back to taking a full load of courses. He did his best to not glower as Taako checked over the cases.

“Morning,” Taako said quietly. “Let me know if there are any fresh orders, I’ll get ‘em together.” That was good for a start, much better energy than yesterday. Unsurprisingly, Kravitz never did give him feedback about the sandwich. He at least ate it, right?

Neither of them noticed the person approaching outside until the bell over the door jingled cheerily. Brad strode right in, as if he wasn’t supposed to be at his nine-to-five job this time of day. “Good morning, fellas, I’d like a quick team huddle,” he began.

Taako winced. Not again, come on, something innocuous or a quick announcement of good news, _please._ He forced a smile and walked over. “Morning, Brad,” he said.

“I’m needing a bartender who’s available for an event this Thursday evening, can either of you do that? Or recommend someone? I’ve gotten us a spot at the Olive Street music festival—I’m sure you’ve seen the flyer on our bulletin board. Double pay of course, like last time.”

Taako stifled a sigh. Thursday was short notice, it really was happening again. He pulled out his phone and checked the shared calendar he had set up with Lup: no major events on Thursday. It’d be better with her there than not.

“I know someone,” he answered. Lup would jump at the chance to make a few extra dollars. He peeked at Kravitz, anticipating a fit.

“Again, I am really sorry for the short notice,” Brad said. “This is a temporary situation. Opportunities like this help get our foot in the door, after which we’ll be able to set a more regular schedule for these events.”

So there would be more of this. They weren’t just doing prepared food, now it was _events._ If memory served, there would be at least six of these festival evenings throughout the summer. Kravitz felt like he had been force-fed an entire lemon.

Brad must have caught the look on his face, because he hurriedly continued, “Kravitz, I understand you have other commitments. It’s perfectly alright if you don’t have the time. This was a project Taako and I had previously discussed, and, once you train him on the register, I’m sure we can manage without you.”

Like hell they would. “No. This is to say, I’m available.” Kravitz was not letting Taako replace him. It was bad enough that Taako and Brad were conspiring behind his back! Besides, strictly speaking, he needed the money.

Brad quirked a smile. “I haven’t even told you what time it is yet. The event goes from six until nine. Setup starts at five. We won’t have our own booth like last time, it’s just a spot at a row of tables under a long tent, with a counter behind that. You can think of it as an outdoor bar. Drinks are served open, which is why we need someone with a license. We’ll also be able to serve food items. I would love to do the corndogs again—people are still talking about them!—but we can’t have our own deep-fryer, or anything else plugged in. We’ll need something else. A dessert, possibly. But we’ll at least be able to reuse our signage.”

“I—I can’t be there until five-thirty, at the earliest,” Kravitz said. His last class got out at five. And he’d be missing practice time entirely. He paid for that slot! His mind churned through the math, trying to work out whether this event was enough money to be worthwhile. But he’d already thrown his hat in the ring. His pride wouldn’t stand for backing out now.

Taako tapped out a text to Lup: **hey you still free Thursday night? Work need someone who can tend bar $$**

He turned back to Brad. “I shot her a text to see if she’s interested. Hopefully she’ll get back to me soon, she normally has her phone on her. I’ve got an idea or two, I’ll need Kravitz’s liquor recs though.”

Taako snuck a glance at Kravitz, hoping he’d be cooperative. Maybe he’d stay chill, if Taako validated his oh-so-important expertise? And it wouldn’t hurt to make a show of teamwork. Taako’s phone buzzed with Lup’s confirmation. “She’s interested, want me to coordinate with her?”

“That sounds spectacular.” Brad beamed. “I’ll draw up a contract for her. Same pay as you both. For preparations, whatever inventory you pull for this can be stacked in the back room. I’ll stop by during lunch on Thursday to drop my truck off, so you and Carey can load up in advance. She and I will likely man the store during the event, and I’ll swing by to help pack up after closing. We’ll hash out the details and I’ll compose an email with all this information for you reference.”

This was far too much for Kravitz to handle at once. He shoved away the spiteful impulse to point out that Brad hadn’t actually clarified how much the bartender would be making, because Taako was paid significantly more. “We’ll take care of everything. I’ll help with the drinks menu. We certainly have plenty to show off with.”

“Cool, good, it’s already handled,” Taako agreed, willing Brad out the door. Please go. Please go now, before you throw some new grenade into this secretly fraught situation, Bradson, come on.

“Excellent, I’ll be off then, knew I could count on you. See you Thursday!” Brad beamed as he left the store.

The bell over the door tinkled, then fell silent. Taako turned to Kravitz slowly and took a deep breath. “Alright,” he began cautiously, “talk to me about amaretto, my man, I gotta start planning, sounds like.”

“Why amaretto?” Kravitz sighed heavily and crossed his arms. “No, sorry, I want to try and be fair. This situation isn’t entirely your fault—but next time you and Brad wind each other up about _events,_ please do tell me sooner.”

Taako pushed his hair back. So far, so good, this could be okay. “I’ve got a recipe for spiked strawberry shortcake. That at least’ll be a lot cooler than the corndogs were. I can make the cake and soak the strawberries in the booze ahead of time and we can throw them together and hit ‘em with whipped topping in like two seconds so they won’t be too soggy. We can feature the amaretto to drive sales.” Taako gave a dry little chuckle. “Brad needs to plan like, _way_ better.”

Kravitz just stared at him with his expression kind of twitching, like he couldn’t figure out whether he agreed. No yelling! Progress, _definitely._ Taako shrugged and continued. “At least we’ll have a third person this time, that’ll help.” Phew. It looked like Kravitz maybe wouldn’t snap on him for now. Hopefully he’d stay civil through the planning process, too, and the event itself.

“I believed Brad when he said that this instability will pass, and will credit him with hiring us some help. It’s really her I need to talk to, if she’ll be serving drinks. We’ll need some sort of simple cocktail menu, I imagine.” Kravitz thoughtlessly mirrored Taako, pulling his hair into a large, draping bun with an oversized elastic from his pocket. He really shouldn’t: he hadn’t found enough time to take care of his hair for a few days, and the locs were growing crispy and brittle. “As for the amaretto—To keep menu prices down, I imagine we should go with the Disaronno in drinks. Not that we have _choices_; we only stock one other brand. But, when it comes to shortcake, I think we’ll want to use the Da Vinci Classic Amaretto Syrup? The label only suggests flavoring coffee, but it’s also literally a third of the price of real amaretto.”

“That’s true. I’ll see if she can stop in, I think she’s going to class soon though.” He texted Lup quickly: **lmk when you can come help plan the drinks.**

He shoved his phone back into his pocket. “You’re probably right about the syrup, that should be good and keep costs low. I’m gonna have to get started, that’s a _staggering_ amount of cake for one elf, my dude.” He gave Kravitz a wry smile. “Least I know you know your stuff vis-à-vis alcohol, this’d be a complete nightmare otherwise, huh?”

“It’s a complete nightmare anyway,” Kravitz grumbled, momentarily forgetting himself. That gripe was far too dramatic for work.

“Yeah, hard agree. Can we skip straight to the weekend? Thursday’s cancelled,” Taako joked.

Kravitz suppressed a smile. He couldn’t believe that Taako had just praised him. Turning that over in his head ruffled his feathers, but in a way that made him want to preen. Even though Taako was probably just sucking up. “I mean— Anyway, I’ll let you get back to it. Will having to make the shortbread impact your efforts at sandwich preparation?”

Taako thought for a second. “I should still be fine sandwich-wise, turkey and Swiss is pretty straightforward and mostly prepped already. That’s lucky, matter of fact, that it’s today of all days.” He sighed. “I can’t believe… Look, this is wild, huh? I haven’t even been here long enough to get paid yet, this is chaos, oof.”

“It’d never been like this,” until you showed up, “previously. We can only hope we’re experiencing temporary growing pains. At least the paychecks we receive on Friday should be hefty. What all do you need for the shortcake? I know we don’t have strawberries or cream.”

“Yeah, hopefully we sort of level out, I’m good but I’m not a miracle worker, y’know? That extra pay, though...that’s gonna look real nice sitting there for just in case, never know when you might need that.” Taako pursed his lips, running through ingredients in his mind. “I’m also gonna need a ton of eggs, but I think otherwise I’m mostly good? I’ll double check and let you know for sure.” He laughed. “Hey, at least strawberry shortcake’ll be something you can probably help with, if we need it, just scoop and squirt on the whip, huh? Easy.” He winked.

It was obvious that Kravitz didn’t know what to do with those words, combined with that wink. It was less obvious, especially to him, why the image of Taako’s short-shorts from Saturday fluttered through his mind. “Um. Yes, scoop and… I can do that. Well, when you have a note about what all you need me to order, pass it to the front. Actually, Carey will probably be the one to run and pick it up. So um. Either you or I should text her. Group text.”

Not for the first time—but the first time where the thought bubbled up to conscious awareness—Kravitz remembered that Taako was _unfairly_ pretty. It was likely the laugh that did it, dammit. He coughed and edged towards the register.

Taako smiled. Kravitz was being so weird, with his flustered little coughs and stumbling words. It was a vast improvement over the petulance and anger Taako had been worried about. He was almost cute; apparently, coming at Kravitz with a little flattery and encouragement made the guy damn near malfunction. “Can do, my dude. I’ll let you know when the bartender can come as soon as she gets back to me, too.”

He headed back to the kitchen and got started, organizing ingredients and checking against the recipe. A text came through from Lup as he was typing the list into the group chat: **2:30 good???**

Taako hit send on the list, then typed a second message into the group chat: **bartender can be here at 2:30 for menu planning.** He hit send again, then quickly put together a sandwich and started to load up a tray to fill the gaps in the display case.

A message from Brad popped up a few minutes later. **Can she make it 2:50 or 3:00 pm? Carey, can you go over the menu with the bartender so Kravitz can set aside stock in the morning?**

That sounded perfect to Kravitz. Half past two was right at shift change, and he couldn’t afford to be waylaid as he left. He had to be on campus by three, and somehow find time for all his classwork and practice while coordinating this event. Frankly, he was overwhelmed.

Normally he’d love to attend a music festival. He was always woefully behind the local scene, and watching so many bands in quick succession was educational. But he’d much rather participate as a performer than as catering staff.

It did help to know that Taako was overwhelmed too. And that he should be fully occupied in the kitchen. Kravitz pulled his composition lecture notes and spread them open behind the register. He was dreading his performance test next Monday. He’ll have missed practice _three times_ in eight days. He’d never been so irresponsible.

But at least he would be skipping Saturday for a reason he looked forward to, this time. With one eye on the door, he switched his phone over to Grindr and smiled softly at T_sizzle’s flashy user icon. **If I had fun dreams, they would be about you. You’re the brightest spot in my day.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tansy here. Moreso than being a modern AU, this is an "everybody works crazy hours" AU. Figuring schedules to cover a corner store with FOUR (4) people wasn't easy. We just barely contrived a way for Brad to get sleep.
> 
> We've been posting such Vibing meta over on our tumblrs (so these notes don't get too ridiculously long). My tag is [vibing-and-keeping-it-tight](https://tansyfandom.tumblr.com/tagged/vibing-and-keeping-it-tight/)
> 
> I want the next chapter to come out sooner, but holidays, whatcanyado. Also I installed 1200 sq ft of hardwood planking this week and all the kids are out of school in like a day. RIP to me


	9. I Don’t Shine/if you don’t shine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first music festival kicks off with Kravitz, Taako, and Lup working together to serve up some snacks. Conversations are had. Lips are ogled. Could the boys be on their way to figuring out their respective identities? They'd better get cracking, because it's only 2 days until the big date.

When Thursday evening rolled around, Taako figured he must’ve set a new world record for number of strawberries cut (probably not for volume of cake baked, thanks to that asshole in New Jersey, _but still_), and he was feeling pretty damn proud of himself. He arrived at the festival’s catering tent with Lup and started setting up, bottles of liquor, tupperwares of and cake and berries, and cans of whipped cream, the whole nine.

Kravitz said he’d be along closer to 5:30, but Brad had driven the truck over and, with his help, all the stock wasn’t too hard to move. Taako set the last of it down and high-fived Lup, then headed for a porta potty before things got hectic. When he came back, he snuck up behind Lup, who was busy opening the plastic sleeve on a stack of cups.

“Hey, Lup!” he yelled. There was no reason for it, but he may as well. _Sucker._

Lup yelped in surprise and spun around to face him. “You asshole, you’re next!” she cried, giggling as she reached as if to tickle him.

He dodged back. “What, what, I can’t say hi? You’re my sister!” he teased.

She balled up the plastic wrapping and lobbed it at him. “Jerk,” she teased without heat.

Taako just managed to arch to the side to let the plastic wrapping land harmlessly on the ground. “That’s littering, you’re killing the planet you monster!"

By the time Kravitz forced his way to the catering area, the crowd had thickened to nigh-impenetrability. He stalled out in front of the banner for Far Corners, weighed down by his bags and with his locs slipping out of a high ponytail. One of the bag straps yanked his collared shirt—the same poor outfit decision as on Saturday—askew, exposing his shoulder. His forehead was already shiny with sweat.

“Where’s the entrance?” he asked helplessly, trapped on the wrong side of the row of plastic folding tables. He swiveled his head, scanning for their bartender. Then did a double-take.

Taako picked up the wrap, tossed it in the bin, and turned to see a disheveled looking Kravitz.  _ Gods, shoulders hot _ , passed through his mind unbidden. “You gotta go around, my dude.” He gestured and slung an arm around Lup. “This is Lup, she’s our bartender, and she kicks ass at it, questions?”

“What’s up, you the booze guy? Good to meetcha, I’m Lup,” Lup said at the same time, overlapping Taako’s introduction.

“...Sister?” Kravitz asked. He couldn’t help staring. The resemblance. The—frankly unprofessional—familiarity. He’d like to complain, but only as much as he’d like a bottle of water. At least it seemed that they did get most of the set-up done while he was making his mad dash from campus.”I mean, are you—Carey didn’t mention?”

“Twin sister, younger by—” Taako began.

“That’s a bold-faced lie, I am older and you know—”

“—by five minutes but  _ spiritually _ this is my baby sister—”

“We are at  _ work _ , hello, Kravitz, please ignore my rude brother, pleasure to work with you,” Lup finished.

Kravitz stared at them, gobsmacked. This was  _ not _ what he signed up for. This may be worse than not having any help at all. Did Taako’s sister even actually have a bartending license? Surely Brad would have checked.

“Nice to meet you,” he finally managed, after the glaciers of his patience had succumbed to the rising levels of annoyance generated by everything about this situation. “I’m going to…go around.”

He turned his back, revealing that one of his bags was actually a violin case, and plodded down the line of tables.

Taako watched Kravitz head around to the entrance, laden down with bags and having to push through the crowd. Huh. The boy carried a lot, looked like, was that a violin case? Importantly though: strong? Yes.

He turned to Lup and muttered under his breath, “He gives you any shit you grab me, I’m so serious I’ll end him if he—”

“He already gave you shit first, he gets one, count ‘em,  _ one _ , chance from me, believe it,” Lup muttered back. “We talked about this, I’m not gonna start shit with him but I’ll permafinish it if I gotta.”

“Hey, you can put your stuff back there, or have Brad lock it in his truck, my man,” Taako called as Kravitz worked his way toward them.

“I don’t want to go find Brad,” Kravitz called back, hunching his shoulders.

A few seconds later, he shoved his head and shoulders through the canvas of the long tent separating the food stands from the shops behind them. Most of the caterers had cheap wooden back counters laden with bottles of alcohol, as well as coolers of ice shoved under their folding tables.

Kravitz scanned what the twins had set out to make sure everything was in order. “Did we end up using the butcher’s freezer?” he asked, ducking to stash his belongings in a cabinet below the counter. The flimsy wooden door didn’t seem to want to stay shut.

“Just for ice, they actually cut the fee they originally said ‘cause it was hardly any space,” Taako answered. “The rest doesn’t need to be frozen, really, so we did coolers. C’mere and lemme show you your new friend.” He pulled out a can of whipped topping and handed it to Kravitz. “Do not puncture or incinerate,” he instructed dramatically.

“We, of course, are the collective reason for this warning—” Lup explained.

“Mmmm, yeah, due to shenanigans,” Taako agreed. “So what we’ll be doing is: first, cake, scoop the strawberries, stack it, be sure to get some juice in there, hit it with whipped topping, hand it over, done, next,” he said, demonstrating.

“Hope you’ve got it, five minutes ‘til showtime,” Lup interjected.

“Okay, so the cake goes on the bottom…” Kravitz said slowly. Surely he must’ve at least seen a picture of strawberry shortcake somewhere, at some point, despite the fact that he was certain he’d never eaten it. There were only three ingredients, he could figure this out. He spied the cake squares, stacked deep in a huge tupperware. They looked rather pale and crumbly. Hopefully the canned whipped topping would improve them. “Wait. I had assumed I would just be running the register?’

“Yeah, um, apparently there’s a token system? Folks are buying ‘em on the way in, all the vendors accept ‘em, and then the festival folks are gonna settle up. Brad got the lowdown, anywho, mostly gonna need help with this here,” Taako explained. “Brad already put up the pricing, we just gotta go with the flow, y’know?”

“This is gonna be way the hell easier, I’m kinda into it,” Lup supplied. “Also, they’re carding at the gate, so we’re good to serve anyone with a wristband.”

“And no electronics to worry about, either, super simple,” Taako enthused. “Anyway: stack it up, squirt, next, you good?”

Kravitz was not good. And he wouldn’t even get a moment to reel properly from the sudden change, because the tide of the crowd ebbed and then redoubled as the performers and technicians finished their retreat to the stage area and patrons surged in behind them.

“I’ll manage,” he said tartly, because confessing to Taako that he hadn’t seen Reddi-wip demonstrated since the foster home he left at age ten was a special level of hell. One likely reserved for the kind of moron that he refused to identify as. “I suppose I’ll just…stand over here. I’m, um.” He forced the cap off. “I’m ready.”

Damn it all. If he wasn’t running the register, then Taako didn’t need him here. He could’ve had a quiet evening alone with the piano in practice room 38-CK without worrying one bit about Taako encroaching on his job responsibilities.

“Alright, boys, let’s do this thing,” Lup declared, clapping her hands briskly. A flirty smile appeared on her face as the first customers stepped up to the bar. “Hey, what’ll it be?” she asked the first one playfully, picking up a cocktail shaker to get started.

Taako flicked the cap off his can and started assembling shortcake for his first customer. “Enjoy this for me, okay, my dude?” he said, sliding it across to the man. “I can sell faster than you,” he taunted Lup. She rolled her eyes.

Kravitz’s unpracticed attempt at spraying whipped topping barely hit the bowl in time and ran up one edge. He fought back a wince, but the customer quickly demolished his artistry with a plastic spoon, so he supposed his sloppy aim wasn’t a big deal. He accepted the proffered tokens. For lack of anywhere better to put them, he dropped them on top of one of the sealed tupperwares.

If Taako was determined to turn serving into a competitive game with his sister, then Kravitz was about to sorely disappoint him. That would serve him and his unreasonable expectations right.

“Hey,” Lup said, reappearing from the back holding an empty liquor crate lined with a garbage bag. “Best I could do for tokens, boys, I’ll stick it right here,” she said, centering it between them and herself. She immediately sashayed over to take another drink order.

“Thanks, Lu,” Taako called. “Hey, two? I gotcha,” he said, shifting focus and smiling at a couple who’d just come up. He assembled the shortcakes, swapped them for the tokens, and moved on.

“How much is a token worth?” Kravitz whispered from the corner of his mouth. “I have no idea if we’re collecting the right amount.” The last part of his sentence was drowned out as the first band took the stage for a sound check.

“Sign says two. Brad...mmm, I don’t know, man, Brad did the sign. I personally think we could’ve gone three, but from the look of it this may wind up being a volume game,” Taako replied, gesturing to the crowd with his can. He chuckled, an edge of stress and frustration evident. “Lucky I’ve got you to count on, huh?”

Kravitz sprayed gooshy, white turds of whipped definitely-not-real-cream over the next two bowls. This was easy. It was also making him vaguely nauseous. Rushing straight here from campus had denied him his usual microwave dinner. With his stomach moaning for a warm meal, the sugary whipped topping seemed completely unpalatable. At least the way he was dispensing it. “I appreciate the flattery, but I suspect you and your sister didn’t really need me at all,” he said quietly, before his lagging brain could shut his mouth down.

Taako picked up another bowl and scooped strawberries into it. Did—hold on, did Kravitz really think that? What the fuck? After the corndogs, and in this crowd? Hell no, if Taako and Lup were roped into this type of shenanigans then Kravitz,  _ assistant manager, _ was gonna be right there with them. “Don’t be an idiot, this whole thing would be a no-go without you, it’s way too much for two even if it is  _ us _ ,” Taako said briskly.

He looked down at the container of strawberries—nearly empty. “Now, for example, keep it rolling for two seconds, I’ll get more berries. Hey, Lup, out of anything? I gotta get berries,” he called.

“Get vodka, ‘s not critical yet, but better now than then,” Lup answered.

“Be right back, keep that rhythm,” Taako ordered, then quickly ducked into the back.

Kravitz managed to correctly assemble four more bowls of shortcake in quick succession. The sound check onstage progressed to warm-up chords, and he found himself relaxing into the almost meditative pattern. Shortcake bar, spoonful of boozy strawberries, whipped cream on top. Give spoon, take coins.  _ Rhythm _ was right. Taako was right; Kravitz could keep this going. It was fine. There was no point in having performance when nobody looked twice at their shortcake before demolishing it with a spoon.

It jarred him when someone Lup had just served lingered to ask if they could buy a bottle of the stuff on the sign. Sadly, no: alcohol could only be sold in plastic cups of ten ounces or fewer, and it wouldn’t do to explain amaretto syrup over the clamor of the crowd. He invited them to drop by Far Corners. An early success with promoting the store. Brad’s plan seemed to be working.

Kravitz had this handled. And yet, he caught himself anxiously looking over his shoulder for Taako more than once, even though he still had enough strawberries left for several customers.

When the act of wishing failed to manifest Taako and the line for their table briefly emptied, he turned to Lup. “So, you have a bartending license?” Wait. That sounded accusatory. “I meant to ask if you’re a professional bartender?”

“Ayup,” Lup replied breezily, “just part-time right now though, while I’m in school. Tonight’ll help out a lot, you know, books, fees, that’s how they getcha. What about you, sure we get you the whole night? I saw that violin, you sure you’re not a secret special guest for some band here?”

Kravitz was totally unprepared for Lup’s interest in him. His anxiety ratcheted up another notch. What on earth had Taako been telling her? Surely nothing good, but she seemed friendly enough. “Ah, no, I’m not a performer.”

Carey and Brad knew he was a student. For shift-scheduling purposes, he couldn’t not tell them. But he didn’t like to bandy his status about at work.

By their senior year, music students should be in ensembles and play the occasional gig. Not work in corner stores. But he was lagging a semester behind his peers, and so many opportunities had slipped through his fingers.

Admitting his failures was more embarrassment than he cared to deal with tonight. “I just wasn’t able to drop my violin off at my apartment before I needed to be here. May I ask what you’re in school for?”

“Mortuary science,” Lup answered dramatically, wiggling her fingers spookily. She laughed. “Now that’s job security, huh? Everyone ends up needing it eventually. I’m getting to the real good hands-on bits now.”

Just then, Taako burst back through the flap, carrying a large container of cut strawberries with a bottle of vodka perched on the lid. “Check it out, I brought the party!” he joked, pushing the entire thing in Lup’s direction.

Lup snagged the vodka and put it in its place with the rest of the liquor. “Hell yeah!” she said as he set the container of strawberries down and pulled off the lid. “Thanks, you’re a lifesaver.”

“Better believe it,” Taako said. He looked between Lup and Kravitz, making note of her expression. Seemed like smooth sailing, good. “That oughta keep us going for a little bit at least, right, my man?” he said with a light poke to Kravitz’s elbow.

“Right,” Kravitz said. “Things are—going quite well, all told.”

Seconds later, the first band kicked off their performance. Kravitz recognized them instantly—they were a country-pop act, local, though none of the musicians attended his school. He’d have to remember to look up their name. They were good; it was a genuine pleasure to have music to enjoy while he worked.

He wasn’t as uncomfortably hot as he’d been last time, having forgone an undershirt and picked a lighter weave for his button-down. The late hour probably helped too. There was no telling whether this event would improve store sales yet, but, if he understood the token system correctly, they were on track to make a tidy profit.

And it was nice, seeing Taako so animated and on-task. Watching him and Lup banter, while annoying at first, was now making Kravitz almost jealous. What would his childhood have been like, if he had siblings?

Likely the same, he chided, forcing himself to focus on spraying whipped topping. He’d known siblings who were separated in the foster system. Shaking himself out of those thoughts, he held the can up to Taako. “How do I tell when this is about to run out?”

Taako chuckled. “Give it a good shake, it’ll get lighter until it starts to just  _ pbbbbt _ ,” he answered, imitating the sound. “We’ve got plenty, though, if it runs out just grab another, shake ‘er up and go.” Did Kravitz...not know how to...hmmm, signs pointed to no? Did the man really have no joy in his life? Signs also pointed to no. Shit.

The music was good, though, and he could see Lup dancing a little, shaking cocktails in rhythm as the customers flowed through, then pausing for one in particular. Aha, looked like Study Buddy Barry liked music, too.

“Hey,” Lup said, winking cheekily, “you here for a drink or just window shopping?”

Barry blushed deeply. “Uh, a drink, uh,” he floundered. “An old fashioned?” He cleared his throat. “Shame you have to work, or we could hang out?”

Lup slid Barry’s drink across the table to him, following it and allowing him just a tiny extra peep of cleavage.  _ Gods, she was gonna kill the poor boy _ , Taako thought.

“I should be out of here by eleven, and I’ve got some fun ideas. Gonna need you still sober enough to say yes, though, if you catch my drift.” She winked.

Barry, it seemed, very much did catch her drift. “Yeah? Yeah! I’ll—I’m parked a street over, we can go do whatever you want! I’ll come back for you, then,” he promised as he walked away, looking a bit dazed.

Lup winked at Taako. He rolled his eyes. “Groooooss,” he teased.

“Unprofessional,” Kravitz commented mildly, shaking the Reddi-wip can. He never would’ve guessed that man was the type Lup would go home with, but she’d made her intentions unmistakable. “Not that it really matters in this environment, I suppose.”

He jerked his head back towards the stage, and the enthusiastically topless performers who’d taken it over. The matching nipple pasties were an interesting touch. Especially plastered over the lead guitarist’s chest hair.

Taako snorted. “New relationship energy, am I right? You should see ‘em in semi-private, the things I suffer, my dude,” he said. He softened, his voice quieter as he continued. “She’s happy, though, that’s what matters. He seems to respect her and treat her well. That’s all anyone wants, I guess, someone who makes ‘em happy. That’s what I want for her.”

He quickly made up a shortcake for a customer, exchanging it for tokens and sending them off with a bright smile. He shook the can of Reddi-wip idly, not quite realizing he was mirroring Kravitz’s movements, angled toward him, paying attention. “You want me to check and tell you if you’re getting low, there?” he asked, indicating Kravitz’s can.

Kravitz was staring at Taako with a pensive expression. He hadn’t expected that kind of compassion, or sincerity. Perhaps he’d misjudged Taako.

Taako was so pretty—and petty, glib, insouciant—that Kravitz would have imagined him to be… well, it didn’t matter. He’d been uncharitable. It wasn’t for him to say whether Taako would reflect more seriously on a relationship than he did work. As it was, Kravitz found himself wholeheartedly agreeing with everything Taako said on the subject.

“Have at it,” he said, handing over the whipped cream. “I think it feels lighter than when I started, but it’s difficult to tell.”

Taako took the whipped cream can, fingers accidentally brushing Kravitz’s. He gave the can an experimental shake. “You’re getting close,” he said. He handed the can back to Kravitz. “You look like you’re holding your own out here, too, not bad. At least it’s not a million degrees out this time, gods, that was hell!” Taako laughed.

“Listen, I take pity on you, my man,” Lup interjected. “‘Cause when Taako got through with the corndog thing? The boy stank, I mean  _ reeked _ , and you were in there with him the whole time, my condolences.”

“Hey!” Taako began.

“You  _ did! _ ” Lup countered, laughing. “Sweaty, stinky boy!” Taako blew a raspberry at her, laughed, then turned to help the two girls that had just walked up to the counter.

Kravitz flashed a quiet grin to himself. Personally, he hadn’t thought Taako smelled bad that Saturday, but there was no way to make a statement to that effect not creepy. He turned a more professional smile on to greet the latest customers. “Ah, Killian! Good to see you again. Here for a drink?”

“‘Sup!” said Killian, sticking her tongue out. She was elated, done up in bright blue facepaint much the same color as Carey’s scales, with streaks of purple and pink dye in her hair. “I’m actually working, cuz I have the  _ best _ job. This is my boss, y’all. Lucretia, these are Kravitz and Taako and—his sister? They work with Brad.”

Lucretia was a young, willowy human with dark skin and shockingly white hair. Her round glasses were fogged up from the heat where the rims rested on her high cheekbones. She carried a thick, well-loved notebook against her chest, covering the band logo on her t-shirt. “Hello,” she said. “It’s nice to meet you all. I write the Lifestyle and Events column for the local paper, as well as serving as an assistant editor. Killian suggested that it was time to feature Far Corners.”

“Oh, cool!” Taako replied enthusiastically. “That’ll be fun! Lup’s here tonight kinda special guesting it up as our bartender, Kravitz here’s our front end specialist-slash-assistant-manager, and I’m the chef, of course, responsible for hits like this here shortcake.”

“That looks delicious.” Lucretia eyed the shortcake. “And you all look like you’re having fun out here. I heard about your corndogs at the event last week, you’re starting to generate some buzz! What should readers expect to find at Far Corners?” she asked, pen poised to take notes.

“For sure we’ve got sandwiches and sides, plenty of good stuff there, but if you’ve got a word quota to fill? You ask this guy about the imported liquor,” Taako answered, placing his hands on Kravitz’s shoulders. “He knows what he’s talking about. Oops, gotta—hey, how many?” he asked, shifting to the side to help a customer who’d just come from Lup’s side of the tent.

Lucretia turned expectantly to Kravitz. “Our stock is responsive to the needs of the community,” he quickly offered, sounding utterly bland. “I mean. For this summer, we’ve found that our Bold Rock ciders are flying off the shelves. Lup’s got a selection on hand tonight. They’re a twist on the usual apple cider, made with a variety of fruits ranging from peach to blood orange to kiwi.”

Taako regarded the scene with amusement. Okay, Kravitz was not the one to interface with the press, apparently, just a bit mmmmm...okay. He had wanted to let Kravitz remain the Booze Guy here, and he had, but it was looking fortunate that this was print, not film.

Lucretia’s pen flew across the paper, scratching lost under the music blaring from the stage. “We also have more traditional spirits,” Kravitz said, leaning forward so he wouldn’t have to raise his voice. “Imports, chiefly. Hence the shop’s name. Um, our wines and scotch sell well—are popular, I mean—and we have more exotic spirits, like sake and takju as well. And beer, lots of beer.”

Kravitz diverted his attention to squirt whipped cream over the latest bowls of shortcake. “And for food?” Lucretia prompted.

“I got this,” Taako said quickly. “We’ve got a specialty sandwich each weekday, along with sides and some baked goods. We’ve got cheese and charcuterie of all kinds. All sorts of cool stuff! We deliver, too, very reliably, Angus is great. I super recommend you stop by, we’re open 10-7 Monday through Friday, 10-5 on Saturday, and noon to 4 on Sunday.” He grinned. “I’m looking forward to growing this thing in the neighborhood, really make it a good place to come in and pick out something new and fun to try,” he finished. There we go, pull quote.

He picked up a new stack of bowls. “You two wanna try the shortcake?” he asked.

“Absolutely,” Lucretia nodded eagerly, finished her scribbling, and capped her pen. “Here, let me.”

Kravitz accepted tokens for both her and Killian and helped Taako quickly throw together their bowls, emptying the last of the whipped topping can with a dribbling  _ fwee _ .

“Oh my god, this is  _ so good _ ,” Killian said. Between her full mouth and her tusks, her voice was completely garbled.

“Some baller shit,” Lucretia agreed, scanning the drink menu as she shoveled another spoonful down.

All credit belonged to Taako, but Kravitz couldn’t help preening. “I’m glad you both like it.”

Taako grinned. He knew it was good, obviously, objectively, but would he still ride that wave of praise?  _ Abso-fucking-lutely _ . “I know Killian’s been in before, but you ladies stop by the shop sometime, kay? You  _ gotta _ .”

“Definitely,” Lucretia said after a quick gulp. “Killian, this was a great idea. Readers’ll love it.”

Killian nodded, mouth full. Taako chuckled. “Always love those rave reviews,” he said playfully. He spotted a couple of people who seemed to be headed their way. “You need more whipped cream?” he asked Kravitz.

Kravitz shook the can up and down and depressed the button, but it was completely empty. “Yes please.”

“Well, we probably shouldn’t drink on the job. At least not this early,” Lucretia said. “And I see you have more customers incoming, so we’ll be off. I’ll email Brad to let you all know when we post the review.”

“Let’s move down the line. I think I see onion rings, I want onion rings,” Killian said. They waved goodbye and Killian beat a path back into the crowd, Lucretia following behind her.

“Bye!” Taako called after them. “Here, hold this, it’s getting there, too, you can finish it,” he said, handing his whipped cream to Kravitz.

He quickly ducked into the back and fished two new cans from the cooler. “Here we go,” he announced, setting one in front of Kravitz, “back in business!” He shook the other can up and pulled out a bowl, ready.

Time passed quickly. Kravitz grew just as adept as Taako at assembling the shortcakes, freeing him up to fetch supplies for Lup as needed. She mixed drinks in rapid succession, but, lacking an assistant, still had the most trouble meeting demand; Taako would win their bet handily. The line for shortcake never stayed deeper than four or so people. Their customers were cheerful and well-behaved, and the token system was admittedly easier than checking everyone out with a tablet.

As the sun set, Kravitz popped a button on his shirt. This was a far better experience than last time. The heat of the day was fading, the progression of bands seemed to be moving towards genuine talent, and he felt like he’d been a real help to Taako.

He brightened when he recognized the latest act. “Oh, the Electric Bells! They’re fantastic.” A quartet of electric strings and a keyboardist in matching gold-spangled outfits took the stage. Their frontwoman deftly peeled chords off her electric violin that reverberated over the noise of the crowd. “They’re mostly known for covers, but their first single was excellent.” He’d started teaching it to himself on his violin, in between projects for class.

Lup perked up, too. “Hey, yeah! They’re great,” she enthused. “You play stuff like this, or are you more of a symphony orchestra fancy guy?”

“Wait, hey, yeah, I saw that violin case, my dude, I wanna know the answer to that, too,” Taako said playfully. He really knew almost nothing about what Kravitz  _ liked _ , come to think of it, other than being right and people praising him, and arguably fancy booze. He was curious.

“I play a little of everything,” Kravitz hedged. He didn’t want to explain that ‘ _ a little of everything _ ’ most nearly meant that he was versed in multiple instruments, in school for composing, and wanted to be a conductor someday. His fragile dreams were too personal for a work conversation, and he didn’t want to show so much of his heart to Taako.

He continued, “Symphony orchestras are all well and good, but I’m, to be honest,”—absolutely sick of them after his classes last semester— “more of a fan of popular contemporary music, at the moment. I’m somewhat out of practice on the violin.” He was missing practice right now. “It’s hard to find the time, or space. I would hate to…cultivate my neighbors’ enmity, as it were. Thin walls, you know how it is. Do either of you play?”

Lup nodded. “Yeah, neighbors, oof,” she said.

“Lup’s a roof exile for that,” Taako said at the same time, chuckling. “Our neighbors are mostly chill  _ to a point _ .”

Lup laughed, too. “Remember that time I tried to practice in the park and that cop ran me off? He thought I was busking without a permit, and you came back from the water fountain and about  _ lost it _ thinking I was getting arrested?”

“It scared the shit out of me! You would’ve lost it, too!” Taako protested.

“I would’ve, I would’ve, totally, but you  _ ran _ straight for us, gods, and after that we figured ‘well, not the park, I guess’,” Lup finished. “No one cares if I go up on the roof, though, so that works out.”

Kravitz took in their story with his eyebrows raised to his hairline. So much for that idle musing on busking as an income source. “I didn’t even know that required a permit. I wish the roof of my apartment building was accessible. Well, for the upper units it might be—I wouldn’t know, I’m on the first floor.”

The Electric Bells ended with their single after a few 80s rock covers, and were followed by an alternative pop group that strummed and cooed into the microphone. Kravitz found himself yawning. Not because they were bad, but because their music was so soft. It was fully dusk and he and Taako were going nearly ten minutes at a stretch without a single customer. Lup mixed drinks for some people who took their cups and headed towards the exit.

The crowd trickled away, its remaining bulk centered around the stage. Some of the other stands, out of stock or not, began packing up. Kravitz finally spotted Carey up by the open area in front of the stage. Her tiny form was only visible because Killian was swinging her as they danced. Brad must’ve let her leave early so she could spend the evening with her girlfriend. Nice of him.

They looked like they were having fun. They looked so in love. Kravitz gazed wistfully, imagining how different his week would’ve been if he’d been able to meet up with T_sizzle as planned.

At his side, Taako checked the time on his phone. It was about time to start closing down. “Looks like we made it,” he said.

“Hell yeah!” Lup crowed, triumphantly corking a bottle of mixer. “Let’s get ready to jet. I have a hot date to meet.”

_ “Gross,” _ Taako teased.

The crowd continued dissipating as they packed up the bowls and spoons. Taako peered down into the shortcake container. They had very nearly run all the way through it; only a few bars were left. He fastened the lid as Carey and Killian started to make their way over. Fortunately cleanup was pretty simple. Loading the truck up would go quickly with so many pairs of hands.

Lup arranged liquor bottles into plastic crates for transport. “That was a blast, boys, you let me know if there’s any more of these things, I’m down.”

Taako nodded absently. Pity Trautonium_Corvid couldn’t have come tonight, he’d love the music. Taako tilted his head back and squirted whipped cream straight into his mouth. Delicious. He licked his lips.

“I’m sorry, what did you just do?” Kravitz asked. He wasn’t sure whether he should look at the white smearing Taako’s lips or the way his throat bobbed as he swallowed.

Actually. Those were both bad places to stare. Kravitz realized his mouth was hanging open.

Taako smirked. “Oh, don’t act all innocent, c’mon, we’ve earned it!” He picked up the other can of whipped cream and handed it over to Kravitz, then squirted himself another mouthful.

Lup snickered on her way to the back. _“Nasty_ boy, you’re a food criminal,” she teased. Taako grinned, then arched his back and exaggerated every motion as he filled his mouth again, just to antagonize her a little. Lup snorted.

Taako gestured toward Kravitz. “Go nuts, my dude, we don’t need the rest, it’s fine,” he encouraged.

“I have never seen anyone do this in my life,” Kravitz said, giving his can the same look that one might give a live grenade.

_ Never??? Oh??? My gods??? _

“Seriously? C’mon, dude, you gotta! Few things in this life are more satisfying than just, squirtin’ a buncha whipped cream in your mouth!” Taako watched Kravitz’s face carefully. Did the guy never just  _ play? _ Like cheap fun, cut loose a little? “Kravitz, Kravitz, Kravitz!” he chanted teasingly.

Kravitz squinted at the can. “This isn’t even real cream!”

Carey bounded up with a toothy grin and joined Taako’s chant, clapping. “C’mon, do it Krav! Peer pressure!”

Killian hugged her from behind, grinning. “If you’re not gonna eat it, give it here and I will. Kravitz, Kravitz!”

“Pfft, alright then.” Kravitz lifted the can to his open mouth. He hesitated. He waffled. Then he depressed the button and accidentally sprayed himself with cream from nose to collar.

Taako laughed. He couldn’t help himself, Kravitz was a _sight_, with whipped cream all over his face. “Gods, Kravitz, lemme—that’s the best part of whipped cream, my dude, it’s messy as _fuck,”_ he chuckled. He gently swiped his thumb across the corner of Kravitz’s mouth, then realized that now he had a fingerful of whipped cream and no plan. He shrugged and licked it off. “Think you need a napkin, my dude, and some practice!”

Killian looked down as Carey looked up. They exchanged a quick glance as they giggled. Oh? What was that? Nothing they’d forget, even if they didn’t pull the trigger on some juicy, juicy rumors. Taako didn’t care. Kravitz was hot, he could admit it. Sucked that they’d gotten off on the wrong foot.

Taako fished a couple of napkins out of the box of plasticware waiting to go back to the truck. “Here you go, now you’ve had the true whipped cream experience.” That said though...the sight of Kravitz, eyes wide and mouth full to overflowing with whipped cream, an absolute _mess_, was one that refused to leave his mind. He tucked it away for later. Just in case.

Kravitz licked his lips and took the napkins from Taako, their fingertips brushing. Wiping his face helped disguise his blush. He lingered on the spot Taako had touched a moment longer than necessary.

He hadn’t horsed around like this for ages. Making everyone laugh was a good feeling. They were done for the day, he’d be getting a hefty paycheck tomorrow, just in time to make rent, and on Saturday he had a _date_. He caught Carey’s crocodile grin and burst into laughter. “There, I’ve had the full experience. Alas, my ineptitude disgraces me.”

He passed the can over Carey’s shoulder to an enthusiastic Killian. “I’d like to reclaim my dignity now.”

“You missed a spot,” Killian advised, tapping her neck. Kravitz tilted his head back and scrubbed before the cream could melt and slide down to his shirt.

Taako laughed again. Everything was a little extra funny at this point, still a little amped up from the festival but otherwise worn out. 8:30 AM had been a long time ago, and it would circle back around soon. He reached for a box. “That was awesome,” he said.

“Let us get that, you boys can get outta here,” Carey offered. “Kills and I can load that stuff, and Lup’s here, y’all have been going since morning.”

Lup pushed back through the tent flap, towing Barry by the hand. “Ears are burning! Talkin’ ‘bout me?” she sang. “I’ve acquired one boy, and he wants to help load up.” Barry’s head popped through the tent flap behind her. He nodded, an utterly besotted look on his face, like he hadn’t just been conscripted into manual labor for his girlfriend of one week.

What a sap. Taako liked him already.

Carey waved her hands in a little shooing motion. “See? Scram, we got it,” she said.

Taako shot her a double thumbs-up. “Text?” he asked Lup. She knew the rest: I’ll be by the phone, if you feel the least bit not-okay, it doesn’t matter where or when or why, I’ll come.

She grinned and returned the thumbs-up. “Okay then,” he said. Hmmm. Maybe? Fuck it, sure. He turned to Kravitz. “Come with me? I’ll show you what we were talking about before.”

“What were we talking about before?” Kravitz asked, negotiating the straps for his messenger bag and violin case.

Taako smiled. He didn’t exactly know what had him in a mood like this, or why he was about to do what he was about to do. But he wanted to. And he wasn’t inclined to think about it too much, just let it be nice, y’know?

“Wanna check out the roof?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*+{BLUPJEANS DATE TRACKER}+*~
> 
> 2) Thursday the 13th of June:  
-Drove Barry's truck around backroads near the body farm until they found a quiet place for some nooky. Lup heartily encouraged Barry to spend all those brownie points he earned from lifting boxes.
> 
> ~+*[LOVE METER: 75%]*+~
> 
> Stealthtable has composed the tale of The First Blupjeans Date. Hot, heavy, and available [ here!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21964933)


	10. Breathe in so Deep/fall for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kravitz plays Taako a song.

Kravitz blinked, following Taako out of the tent. “You mean the roof of your building…? As a practice spot?”

That was…incredibly selfless of Taako. More selfless than Kravitz thought he might be. He couldn’t imagine being comfortable with inviting a near-stranger home so readily.

“Yeah, no one will mind, we always get up there through Mags’s apartment and he and Jules’ll still be up, c’mon, it’s this way,” Taako said. He set off down the street in the direction of Far Corners. “I’m not far from work, it’s lucky, actually, I can just walk.”

Taako was feeling a little excited now. This was kind of an impulse decision and it seemed like things were going okay. Maybe, just maybe, combined with how well the event had gone tonight, this would patch up his working relationship with Kravitz. He wasn’t quite sure where the hostility had come from in the first place, but it couldn’t hurt to try and bond a little.

Taako’s apartment building compared favorably to Kravitz’s. Clad in white stucco, it rose five stories above a busy street lined with stunted oak trees, sandwiched between similar buildings. A fire escape clambered up its center, and an array of mismatched curtains showed through open windows on either side. The units on the ends were equipped with balconies. One, on the top floor, spilled over with flowering vines that stubbornly devoured the railing of their unfortunate neighbors below.

There were no exterior doors to units like Kravitz’s walkup. Instead, Taako led him into a narrow, carpeted hallway through a door a little ways off from the fire escape. “Elevators are traps,” he sang, pushing open the fire door for the staircase beside it. “This one especially, I swear to fuck, it breaks every month. Lup almost had to eat her chapstick to survive once, because the elevator maintenance morons took four hours to show up.”

Kravitz was panting by the time they reached the fifth floor. Taako slammed into the hallway and bounded to knock on the door opposite while he leaned on the doorframe and caught his breath. Living bodies were the worst inconveniece.

After brief scuffling within, the door swung open to reveal Magnus. “Hey guys!” he said. “What’s up?”

“Heading for the roof, my dude, you remember Kravitz?” Taako said.

“Hey, yeah! Come on through!” Magnus answered, pulling the door open wider.

Magnus’s apartment was as cozy and hospitable as the man was. Also, notably lacking breakable objects on low surfaces. The door opened to a living room with a squat, stuffed couch, on which a woman in a nightgown and blanket, her curly hair tied on top of her head for the night, sat cross-legged with a magazine. She waved at Kravitz and Taako as Magnus led them past. “Hey Taaks, what’s the haps?”

“Hey Julia!” Taako answered. He liked her. She was the exact same brand of crazy as Magnus, and they fed off each other for sure. But they also civilized each other. Her dad employed both of them at his artsy smithy/woodshop deal, and together they’d graduated highschool, gone into their trades, and scored this sweet apartment. They even had a car loan, which meant they were full adults, for real.

Kravitz followed after Taako curiously. If he’d been asked, he would have assumed Magnus lived in a frat house. This room looked nothing like his expectations. The end tables had crocheted doilies, of all things. The furnishings were rich wood, with shelves full of books and knickknacks, many seemingly hand-carved. An enormous dog that he hadn’t noticed calmly raised its head from the carpet below Julia’s crossed legs.

The window that led out to the fire escape was furnished with a mat for wiping shoes. Kravitz wiped his before he realized that he should’ve done that at the entryway. He cleared his throat to deflect attention. “Thank you, Magnus. I hope this isn’t too much of an inconvenience.”

“Inconvenience? Pshhh, people in my apartment aren’t an inconvenience, they’re friends! If it’s late when you’re done, just lock up on the way back downstairs, ‘kay?” Magnus said, turning to Taako.

“You got it, big guy, thanks,” Taako answered. He swung a leg over the windowsill and pulled himself out onto the fire escape. Having access from here was a real sweet deal; the ladder to the first ground was all locked up, which kind of defeated the point of the thing, in his opinion. “You got all those bags handled?” he called to Kravitz.

“I do,” Kravitz said. He knocked into Magnus’s bamboo windchimes as he squeezed out, violin-first, onto the tiny, barred metal grate the fire escape had for a landing. The street was a long way down. “This seems… somewhat precarious.”

Taako was already climbing the short distance to the roof. “It’ll hold, it holds Mags no problem,” he called back. He vaulted himself over the lip of the roof and onto the graveled surface. Ten out of ten for the flip wizard. It was easy now because he’d done this a hundred times; the first time was scary as shit, mostly cuz Magnus rattled the fire escape to haze him.

He bent to rummage in a weatherproof storage tote sitting with a couple of patio chairs and a small table. “She usually keeps...ah, there it is,” he muttered, and pulled out a folded-up collapsible music stand. He offered it to Kravitz. “This help?” he asked.

“Ah, that’s Lup’s?” Kravitz asked. He tested his footing on the roof and walked over to Taako.

The view wasn’t exactly beautiful, with the large air conditioning units chugging away and the roofs of adjacent buildings just below. The dark sky glowed a soft, hazy orange, and the moon hung above the electric lines as a thin crescent. Kravitz took a deep breath, appreciating the persistent breeze, car exhaust and all.

At this time of night he’d assumed he’d be home already, eating a microwave meal. This was far better. He flipped his violin case open and drew out the pages he’d intended to practice before he found out about the festival, using a binder clip to affix them to the stand.

He put his bow to the strings reflexively and sent a high chord wavering into the air before he realized that Taako was kind of just. Hanging out. “I don’t mean to keep you up here—unless Magnus would rather I not leave through his apartment alone?”

Taako scuffed his foot against the rooftop. He hadn’t been quite sure what to do next, to be honest, was it weirder to stay or to like, drop his coworker off on the roof and skedaddle? “I can...go and come back later to lock up, if you want? Or stay, if that’s...okay with you,” he said hesitantly. Gods, Kravitz was just gonna play like, scales and shit, right? Lup did this all the time, it was not weird, why did it feel so different—no, _intimate_—now? It wasn’t, that was ridiculous. He waited a beat, then lowered himself into a chair. Feet tired, decision made, unless Kravitz asked him to go.

“Sure, I don’t mind at all,” Kravitz said, mouth somewhat dry. He was being ridiculous. If he wanted to do this professionally, he couldn’t be scared about performing for one coworker.

This should be treated like a rehearsal. He did have a performance exam on Monday, which would require him to play for nine minutes. One of the pieces would be handed to him on the spot as a sight-reading test, but he was supposed to pick the other two and arrange them for three-minute segments. Classical, followed by contemporary.

He’d wanted to have his arrangement finished already, but after the setbacks this week he was still working on familiarizing himself with the music. This was a great opportunity to see how well he had them memorized. In the dark, it was nigh-impossible for him to read the sheet music he’d pinned. The only things that stood out on the gloomy rooftop were the off-white gravel and the round discs of Taako’s eyes, glowing amber from the diffuse streetlights below.

Some silly part of him had imagined performing for T_sizzle like this on Saturday. He actively hoped for questions about his progress in school. It was his proudest, most passionate vocation, and he wanted that part of him to be known by the person whose company he most cherished. When he’d first set up Grindr, he’d chosen a stock image of a violin for his profile picture.

Kravitz swept his bow across the strings, practicing his scales. Afer a few tentative minutes, as Taako began to look more relaxed and his ears drooped, Kravitz launched into the first piece. His choice was somewhat unusual: an intermezzo from an 1894 French opera, devised to connect the scenes of the second act. In that it was considered a world-class encore piece, he was showing off. In that the shortest version he’d found was still 5:14, he was creating more work for himself. Shortening it to three minutes was going to be awful.

The first high notes came effortlessly, sweet and lustrous. The music began like a lullaby and ended as an impassioned prayer. The melody woven was airy on the rooftop, even as the breeze wafted his notes away.

“It’s called _Méditation,”_ he said to Taako, lowering the violin. “That’s not me doing a funny accent for no reason. It’s. French. From an opera that’s—well, I like it.”

Taako was stunned. It was. Beautiful.

He did not expect this, he was malfunctioning a little, he was maybe overtired, he had so many questions? How long had Kravitz played, why didn’t he brag on this literally always? Kravitz was an asshole, he’d chewed Taako out at work this week, how did he love something this beautiful?  
There was no mistaking Kravitz loved this. The way he carried himself was all easy confidence. The lines of his shoulders were strong and steady, not hunched over the counter like he always was at work. He looked ready to hit the stage. He looked _hot_.

“What’s it about?” Taako managed. And he really, really, genuinely, surprisingly? Wanted to know.

The opera was best described as _‘religious eroticism’._ Kravitz absolutely refused to say those words with his mouth to his coworker. “It’s, well. It’s historical. It takes place in Alexandria, under the Roman Empire. Basically—the story is about a monk, the most rigorous among his brothers, who’s utterly devoted to his god. But he’s obsessed with this woman; Thaïs, the opera is named for her. He largely doesn’t understand his feelings. She’s a courtesan, and a priestess of Venus, and he thinks he’s driven to convert her.

“His, um, his old friend is one of her lovers, so he’s able to find and confront her at a feast. She mocks him and he leaves, angry and shamed. But later, they connect—she’s uncertain about her future prospects, knowing her beauty will fade. He promises that he loves her purely, according to the spirit, not the flesh.”

A younger Kravitz, seeing this opera for the first time on grainy VHS in the temple library after school, cried at that scene. He felt every one of the monk’s words as if they came from his own heart. He continued, “The monk promises that, if she converts, she will gain eternal life. The song—_Méditation_—is what plays as she ruminates on this offer. And she chooses to accept.”

The Raven Queen of course did not promise eternal life, but Kravitz understood that the appeal was something similar to the truth of the cycle. A shared hope that nothing was lost from the world in passing. That death was not to be feared. “They travel into the desert together. The monk is—rather cruel to her, forcing her to march as penance for her sins for much of the journey. They talk as friends just one more time before he leaves her in the care of a convent. It’s only then, when he’s never to see her again, that he is struck by how he loves her. He was willfully blind to his own feelings, and the realization drives him to despair.” That had caught Kravitz as off-guard as the monk, though he felt the first prick of the knife before it twisted.

He swallowed and wet his lips before continuing. He hadn’t talked this much at once—possibly ever. Except in prayer to the Raven Queen. That wasn’t a conversation in the way this was, though. His voice was growing tired, and he squinted at Taako’s face in the dark, trying to make out the first signs of disinterest. “This being an opera, the monk soon has a vision that Thaïs was sickened by their journey and lies on her deathbed at the convent. He rushes to her side. He confesses that his motives towards her weren’t pure, and he was wrong. That he never truly believed he was bringing her to salvation; he lied about the nature of his love, and selfishly destroyed her.

“By then, she doesn’t care. She rapturously describes the heavens opening for her and dies. The monk is left alone, knowing that his contempt and rejection of the beauty she found in life killed her, the only person he loved, and that he’ll never again be able to care for anything else.”

Taako stared with his ears pointed at the sky. All that was in an opera? That wasn’t what he thought operas were like, but more importantly, all that was in Kravitz? He described it so passionately, like it lived in him, the story and the music. Taako was...very, very wrong up to now, apparently. He thought that Kravitz just sort of...maybe didn’t like anything? But everyone liked something, right? And here it was. Kravitz loved this grand story of mistakes and double motives and misidentified feelings and death and soul-rendingly, beautiful music.

This was Kravitz’s kitchen. It was where the real him thrived.

“I...uh, wow, that’s—” Taako tried. He cleared his throat. “That’s really sad? And really beautiful, it kinda makes you wish they could just talk it out, I don’t know, but talking’s hard, I get it.” Talking was hard. Was _when you played that and told the story you seemed more alive_ too weird to say? Yes, definitely.

This wasn’t—okay, hold on—this wasn’t a feeling he expected for late on a Thursday night on the roof with Kravitz. Maybe with someone else, someone special to him, on a different day. He couldn’t finish that thought or _else,_ his brain warned.

“I really liked that, I—you’re really talented, thanks,” he managed. Thanks for what? Letting him stay? It was his roof!

Kravitz laughed weakly. "Thank you for listening. That one was—kind of a long one. Um, the song, I mean. Not just my rambling. I guess this isn't the kind of thing either of us would assume the other enjoyed." He tapped the bow stick against his thigh, wondering whether he should play the next song. It was shorter and more cheerful, a brighter note to end the night on. And he'd had less opportunity to practice it.

Besides, Taako’s eyes were so vibrant in the dark. Kravitz didn’t want to lose their attention yet. “Shall I play another?”

Taako smiled. “Yeah, definitely, gotta get your practice, right?” he answered. He was at least reasonably inert in the patio chair, if not properly comfortable. Tomorrow he could just deal with the late night, likely with an irresponsible amount of caffeine.

He really wanted Kravitz to keep playing.

"I really do, these surprise events at work have devoured quite a lot of my time," Kravitz said. "I promise this next one isn't nearly so depressing. It's rather like what the Electric Bells played, actually, except it's not a cover—it was composed for electric violin."

For this one, he had to leaf through the music sheets and refresh his memory before raising his bow. Using his cellphone screen for illumination would've helped, except he'd turned it off so its battery wouldn't die during the festival, and he could be done playing the song before it booted.

The tune started off jaunty, a pace that would be flattered on a fiddle. The music quickly built to something more confident and melodious, but he wasn't even through the first refrain when a clattering from the fire escape punctured his reverie.

"Hey sis, what's going on up here? Thought you had bartending work—" Merle's head popped over the edge of the roof. "Aw shit, I knew I heard noise."

Kravitz lowered the violin. “Merle—” _fucking_ “Highchurch. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb anyone.”

Taako threw his head back against the patio chair with a clunk.._Godsdammit Merle._ “Lup’s out with Barry, what’s up my man?”

“Well, you know me! I hear music, it’s party time! Time to dance, c’mon, buddy!” Merle enthused, grabbing Taako by the hand and tried to pull him up, but failed to get enough leverage.

“Merle— dude, leggo, I just did like 14, 15 hours on my feet, c’mon,” Taako protested. He was kinda irritated that Merle was there at all; he loved the guy but it felt weirdly like an intrusion in a way he was not about to unpack on the fly. “Maybe _text,_ my dude, to see whether Lup’s up here.”

Merle let go, then waved a hand dismissively. “That hunk of junk phone never works for me.”

Taako sighed in exasparation. “Forgot the passcode again? It’s your wholeass anniversary, old man.”

“Ahhh, yeah, yeah, okay, I got it,” Merle said. He turned to Kravitz. “Don’t let me stop you, though, it’s real nice.”

"If you're tired, Taako, I'd hate to keep you." The gears in Kravitz's head spun. Fifteen hours on his feet? Taako came into the store before opening, but Kravitz never thought about when his shift ended. Was he normally full time? That's not what the original job posting had read. He must be exhausted.

Still, Kravitz clutched the neck of his violin, hopeful. Merle’s presence was unfortunate—but, despite that, he was having fun.

“No it’s okay, if you wanna finish that one, I’m down,” Taako answered, stifling a yawn. A sensible person would’ve gone to bed but. Well. “After that I can take us back through Magnus’s and lock up for him, it’s cool.” Unfortunate that Merle was still here. That was annoying, but it couldn’t be helped. It was worth holding out if Kravitz would play more.

Merle tapped a foot and, as Kravitz restarted the opening chords of the song, struck a pose. Leave it to Merle to turn this into a dance session. Taako raised his hands to clap along.

Merle danced exuberantly to the music, beard whirling, movements ridiculously fluid for someone the size and shape of a large penguin. Kravitz bit his tongue to keep from laughing, warmth rising in his chest. Bubbling notes spilled from his fingers faster and faster. He was working up a sweat. The final refrain plunged into silence and Merle, who'd kept pace effortlessly, dropped to his knees with his hands raised in rapture.

As soon as the last reverberation faded, Merle grimaced. "Ow, damned gravel. I don't have young knees." He creaked to his feet and started picking gravel out of his skin.

Kravitz transferred his bow and violin to one hand and aired his collar out, catching Taako’s eye with a bashful smile.

Taako nearly malfunctioned. Kravitz was _smiling._ The hot guy was smiling at _him._ He smiled back.

“I think we’d better call it,” Kravitz said. “We both have work in the morning.”

“I guess—I guess I’ll take us back down? You got your bags? I can get the stand,” Taako said. “You staying or going, Merle?”

“I’m going, you two crazy kids have fun, now, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Merle answered with a wink. He swung himself onto the ladder and quickly disappeared below the edge of the roof.

Taako rolled his eyes. Weird comment, old man. What was that supposed to mean? Merle did all kinds of crazy shit. He folded the stand back down to its compact size and stowed it away in the tub, then swung himself onto the ladder. “Ready, my dude?”

“Yes,” Kravitz said, adjusting his bag and violin case. “Taako, thank you for bringing me up here. This was wonderful. The university rents out practice space—even to non-students, if your sister’s interested—but, well. The prices can be steep, especially for odd hours. So. I deeply appreciate it.” Kravitz couldn’t bear to come any closer to a confession that he was flat broke. Taako didn’t even know he had tuition bills to pay.

Taako chuckled. That sounded a little real, so it was jokes time now. “Hey, it’s like I always say, never turn down free shit.” 

He started to climb down the ladder, making room for Kravitz, and soon enough he had led them quietly back through Magnus’s apartment and down to the street below. He wrapped his arms around himself, though it was anything but cold. “See you in the morning, um...be careful walking home,” he blurted.

He turned tail and went inside. He checked his phone—no messages from Lup, guess she was having a good time with Barry. He got himself a glass of water and showered off the grime and sweat of the day. And right as he crawled into bed, after plugging in his phone and turning it up all the way, he messaged Trautonium_Corvid.

I know it’s super late and you’re probably sleeping. I’ve had my hands full today, but I missed you and I hope you sleep well. I can’t wait to meet you on Saturday :*   
  


As he walked home, Kravitz ruminated on how he should've asked Taako if he could visit to play on the roof again. It was a long enough journey to give him far too much time to think. Even if the buses were still running, he wouldn't have been sure which route to take, so he had to zig zag through the city blocks, orienting himself with landmarks. Turning on his phone wasn’t worth it; the GPS never worked.

The night air was soupy and stifling, a clear sign that a storm was rolling in.

The first thing he did when he got home was peel his socks off. While his phone rebooted and the microwave defrosted a rectangle of 'Salisbury steak dinner', he rinsed the small blisters on his heels.

He ate the cardboard chunk of corn syrup and sadness masquerading as a brownie first, because he deserved a treat after such a long day. His phone dinged cacophonously as several hours' worth of missed messages poured in.

He answered T_sizzle's first. All the rest were generic emails, or Carey, Lup, and Brad coordinating in the group chat.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
I'm still up, believe it or not. I'm sorry I was away from my phone all evening. I was able to snag some unexpectedly late study time for my Monday exam that I sorely needed. I missed you too. I wish we could've spent the evening together.   
  
I can’t wait for Saturday <3  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't believe I almost forgot to link the videos Krav used to pick out his music. Mediation is [ here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQcv4RX8pPM&feature=youtu.be), and the other song is [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3DSs369OzQ).


	11. Go to Hell/let me make this crystal clear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh. Oh, no.

Well this was hell.

Taako had gotten into work on Friday morning after grabbing mayyyyybe six hours of sleep, if that, and started working on opening the shop as usual, never straying too far from a giant travel mug of coffee with far too much sugar and cream. He was already jittery from it. He refilled the cases, started the sandwich prep—mercifully simple, today— and started to put the orders together.

Fuck, there were _so many orders._

Fortunately, Bradson knew they’d be late because of the festival prep and didn’t mind. Unfortunately, it seemed he hadn’t felt the need to communicate his blessing to Far Corners’ Favorite Son, Kravitz.

All of which explained, but by no means excused, the _fucking tone_ Kravitz was taking this morning.

“I’m gonna say this as clearly as I can: the orders will be ready when they are ready and I will let you know when that is, _chill,”_ Taako snapped. He was done with this day and it was barely 9:30 in the morning.

"I can't see what you don't understand." Kravitz drummed his fingers on his thigh, crowding the kitchen counter to read the order list. "I should have been informed that the orders weren't going to be ready! Angus will be here any minute, expecting them all done. I need to know these things!"

He wanted to have helped. He spent his entire morning shift on Thursday blithely pursuing business as usual while Taako baked shortcake squares. Routine dictated that Kravitz would compile the list and pull the alcohol, and Carey would follow with dry goods in the afternoon. Lastly, Taako would assemble the prepared food in coolers before opening the next morning. 

Kravitz hadn't known to expect that Carey would get wrapped up in festival prep, or that Taako would need to dedicate the next morning to cleaning up all the containers and tools they’d used. He could've and should've finished all the orders himself, if anyone had thought to ask.

Moreover, the revelation that Taako had quietly been working full time hours still stung. He pulled the equivalent of a double shift yesterday. This whole time, Kravitz had been assuming that Taako kept the favorable, part-time hours Brad outlined in the initial job posting.

Instead, Taako apparently didn’t leave until the middle of Carey’s shift. This was a career job for him. Brad must give him benefits, and he had only been here for less than two weeks, and no one told Kravitz a thing. “Have you forgotten that the majority of your responsibilities used to be mine? If you’re incapable of doing you job, I can step in.”

Taako reeled back. His ears shot straight up. Incapable? This, from the jumped up cashier who couldn’t boil macaroni? And just after Kravitz revealed that he had something like a soul behind the pretty face.

_That’s it._

“Alright, you wanna do this? Let’s do it here and now. I came into this job in good faith, and you have tried to fuck me over every step of the way. I don’t know what your problem is, but I am _super_ fucking done with it, pal. I am busting my ass in here day in and day out while you glower on that stool like some sorta weird gargoyle goth boy. Do anything, please, read a fucking book, you’re creepy as _fuck!_ What I pulled off yesterday? Shoulda taken three people a week. I did it, by myself, in two days. Don’t you dare fucking come at me with _incapable of doing my job,”_ Taako ranted.

There it was. With the way Kravitz was acting it was overdue, too. _Asshole._

Kravitz took it like a slap to the face. His problem with Taako was _none of Taako’s business._ “Unbelievable! I’ve been trying to ‘fuck you over’? I’ve done nothing but my job!” He shoved away from the counter and wheeled to face Taako. “And really, personal insults? You’ve been unprofessional since day one, but this is a new low. You snagged a gig for your sister just last night and I went along with it!

“Lup is a qualified bartender and happens to technically also be a former coworker of mine. Brad vetted her, if he has a problem he coulda refused to hire her. The only unprofessional thing I’ve done is kiss your ass, _assistant manager,”_ Taako retorted, punctuating with sarcastic air quotes.

“If this is what you think ass-kissing looks like, then I am filled with pity,” Kravitz said venomously. “I wouldn’t assume you would want my opinion of you, or that I should deliver it!”

Taako had called him a gargoyle. Taako had apparently watched him at the front counter enough to think he was creepy. Kravitz’s cheeks burned, but his rage disguised the blush. “But I’ll tell you about your job performance! You’re a wrench in the wheels of this shop. You’re flighty, you’re unreliable, you neglect your basic duties in favor of ‘events’.”

“‘Unreliable?’ It’s real unreliable to be able to pull entire events from the fucking aether with 48 hours’ notice, yeah, can’t count on that guy for _shit!”_ Taako snapped back. “That’s especially rich from a guy who needs a ten-point action plan to figure out a minor responsibility change, dude, I had to teach you to _stack objects_ last night!”

“Events are not a CORE PART OF YOUR JOB!” Kravitz roared, with way more heat than was appropriate. He knew he should restrain himself, but Taako was under his skin. Somehow, Taako always got under his skin. “We never did events before you! In small words: We are a shop. We make money selling our stock. Do we have strawberry shortcake on order here? No! Learn to do what you were hired for, not just what you feel like!” Taako couldn’t even work the register yet. He was far too busy upending Kravitz’s workday to pick up such trifling skills!

Taako’s eyes narrowed to slits. How dare Kravitz just...just fucking yell in his face like this? It was ridiculous, he was ridiculous, he deserved everything Taako was saying and more. “My job is, apparently, whatever Brad wants it to be! I only did these events because he came in here all hype about ‘em! I said we should open the door and have a fucking tiny sidewalk sale and suddenly he has these ideas and who’s gonna tell him no? The new guy? Try again, I need this job!’ Taako was doing his best! Did Kravitz think he wanted to work fifty fuckin’ hours a week?

“You need your job, Taako? You think that deserves special consideration? We all need our jobs! Without chaos, ideally, the chaos you seem apt to generate! I don’t care whether you’re in over your head, and I refuse to let you drag me down with you!” Kravitz fumed.

Taako had never once come directly to him for help. Taako didn’t ask him for anything beyond dropping supply orders in email, even though he was right on the other side of the door for half the day. “I’m sick of finding out about problems after the fact!” Kravitz said.

“You wanna know about stuff? Engage! Fuck me running, I do not need some lazy-ass part time cashier who thinks he’s hot shit to yell at me, I need a fucking coworker to work with me, _gods!”_ Taako retorted.

He was done, so unbelievably fucking done and he needed more coffee, or ideally a nap or maybe like, both, probably. He should’ve fucking called in. He could be in bed right now, snoozing, instead of getting yelled at for trying to do a good job. Fuck ever trying to please Kravitz again. The guy was a douche. And he was looming over Taako, crowding him in his kitchen and yelling. He itched to throw his coffee in Kravitz’s face and run.

Kravitz bared his teeth. “You barely know what’s expected of a coworker! I’m not some—part-time cashier! I’ve been here for years longer than you, and I have other responsibilities that are absolutely none of your business!”

He would rather fry an egg on his face than admit he was in college for music, desperately trying to graduate. Taako wouldn’t respect that, and Kravitz would die if he asked why a wannabe-musician was working at a corner store instead of performing. Kravitz continued in a rush, “You can’t call me _lazy_ when it’s your fault the orders aren’t done and you didn’t even think to ask for help! You’re egotistical, uncommunicative—”

“Uncommunicative?! It’s like pulling teeth with you, I swear, I can’t get a single thing out of you!” Taako cut in. “Just say what you mean; you hate that I’m here, fucking say it to my face! Go on!”

"Fine, you want me to say it, Taako?" Each word was a volleyed missile. Kravitz didn't hate him, but like hell was he backing down now. _"You're—"_

The kitchen door swung open behind them. Angus walked in, looking supremely unimpressed. "Holy shit, sirs."

Kravitz’s brain record-scratched as he jumped back from Taako, as if two feet of distance would make it any less evident that they’d been yelling in each other’s faces.

Taako deflated. “Ango, hi buddy, sorry the orders are late today.” The kid didn’t need to see this, fuck it all, this was embarrassing and not cool, definitely not something that should be happening. Godsdammit, was Angus the only adult on Brad’s payroll? “I’ll finish ‘em up, sorry, buddy,” he offered.

“That’s...fine. Is everything okay in here, sirs?” Angus asked, pointedly looking between the two men.

"It's—yes. My apologies," Kravitz said, equally admonished. "If you can't wait, we won't keep you."

"I think I'm alright," Angus said. He gave them the exact same dubious look Kravitz reserved for feral cats. It was even more damning, coming from a reedy teenager wearing coke-bottle glasses under a fancy hat. "I can hang out while you finish up."

Ah, the high schooler clocked them as needing supervision. And Kravitz thought his shame had already reached maximum intensity. He bobbed his head in an awkward nod. “Of course. Please make yourself comfortable.” He gestured limply, casting around for a chair that didn’t exist.

Angus hopped up on the counter by the door. He folded his hands in his lap and raised an eyebrow expectantly.

Kravitz swallowed the tatters of his pride. He could hardly protest when half the burden of blame was his to shoulder. “Um, Taako. Would you like me to help you?”

“I’ve got it. I’m sure any customers that may come in might appreciate your help, though,” Taako replied crisply. He resumed packing up orders with a hard stare Kravitz-ward: _Out._

Oh, shit. The register was sitting unmanned this whole time. There was nothing Kravitz could say that wouldn’t further embarrass him in front of Angus—or serve to further aggravate Taako. He fled, letting the kitchen door swing shut behind him without a retort.

With him gone, Taako breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Angus. “So, uh...you excited for Sunday?” he asked weakly.

Angus nodded slowly. “You and Mr. Kravitz are gonna handle your shit, right?”

Taako sighed. “Yeah. Yeah, it’ll be fine, it just...got a little heated, stress, you know, we both worked overtime yesterday. Don’t worry about it, okay?”

Angus clicked his tongue and leveled him with a _look_. Geezy-creezy, when had the kid gotten so judgy? Wait, flashback: Angus was always an incisive little shit. Taako almost missed baby Ango. He’d never admit it, but he cherished all those post-school afternoons when they would split apple slices with peanut butter in Ango’s grandpa’s kitchen. Angus would read aloud the good bits from Caleb Cleveland novels and cry at the happy endings, and Taako would tease him mercilessly until his throat swelled up.

Those were the good old days, before the kid grew an attitude and started demanding things of Taako, like that he take antihistamines if he was gonna eat peanut butter. Teenagers, man.

Taako finished the last few orders quickly, in thoughtful silence. “Here you go, kiddo. Sorry you had to hear that, I’ll do better, okay?”

Angus hefted the offered cooler. “Don’t worry about me, sir! I wasn’t in a fight. Have a good day!” he said cheerily, then pushed open the kitchen door and departed to the shop floor.

"Angus, I am so sorry," Kravitz said. He was wheeling the dolly back against the wall. Angus was so on top of things that he'd left his trunk open for loading; Kravitz was loathe to think how long he'd been waiting. Or if any customers been chased off by shouting from the kitchen.

"It's alright, sir, if you can promise you'll keep it together going forward." Angus bustled past with the cooler. He allowed Kravitz to squeeze by and open the door for him.

"I'll make a sincere effort. I really do apologize for becoming so heated. You shouldn't have been exposed to that."

Angus shrugged. "I’m alright. Honestly, this isn't even that bad. I've seen some pretty awful arguments on my cases, and no one's even dead this time!"

Kravitz chuckled. "You're joking, right?"

"Of course I'm joking! I'm just a little boy." Angus smiled guilelessly. He loaded the cooler in with the other boxes and closed his trunk. "Mr. Kravitz, _promise_ me you'll try harder to get along with Taako. There's no reason for you to be at each other's throats. I know you both pretty well and I'm sure you have more in common than you think."

Kravitz's weak smile grew strained. "I'm not so certain, but you're right in that I should try."

“I’ll see you on Monday, sir,” Angus said. “Try and make friends!”

Kravitz waved as he drove off, then loitered on the curb as if he was expecting customers. He was daunted by the prospect of sharing the same building as Taako again. He was being stupid. He swung open the door, snarled at the cheery ring of the bell overhead, and forced himself to take his seat behind the counter.

After a couple minutes, he realized he was hunched over and brooding exactly like the weird gargoyle Taako said he was. Fine, he'd show him. Kravitz pulled out his phone. Taako knew he had a hobby, dammit. He should assume Kravitz had a rich life full of meaningful interests and relationships!

Kravitz waffled for a minute before opening his only surefire way to connect with someone. He was going to have a pleasant conversation in between customers, and damn whatever Taako thought about him being on his phone. This was self-care.

Taako’s phone buzzed. He smiled at it weakly and took another swig of coffee. Leave it to Trautonium_Corvid, he was always there when Taako needed him. Bless whatever god had given him this absolutely steady rock of a man. He took his time typing a reply before sighing and getting back to work. The weight of his phone in his pocket made him feel less shitty than before.

Plus, he just had to endure a couple more hours of Kravitz’s bullshit this week. And Kravitz was nothing to him. Taako gave zero shits about his plush lips, dark eyes, and heartwrenching music. Nope. This time tomorrow he was gonna be smooching a much better boy.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
Good morning, love. I hope you got to sleep in after having your hands full all yesterday. How are you?  
I didn’t, it’s a pretty rough day, but I’m trying to turn it around. Just thinking about seeing you tomorrow is keeping me going, handsome <3   
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seems like things are gonna be fine. (=
> 
> Everybody take a gander at the good good vibes in this bonus content, courtesy of Stealthtable! The twins talk feelings about their boyfriends (and Taako's nemesis) in [Twins' Pizza Bitchfest](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22285579).


	12. You Don’t Know Me/you don’t even care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fateful first date comes to pass.

Saturday morning saw Kravitz clutching a single red rose on the curb of the Full Moon Saloon. His black slacks and pinstriped button-down drew odd looks from the other students walking in, who were largely clothed in shorts and t-shirts. The June weather made sweat gather under where he'd tied his locs at the nape of his neck. Otherwise, he might've been tempted towards a full suit.

This was not the first date he wanted, but it was the one he could afford. In another life, he would’ve wooed the object of his affection at a far fancier venue than a student pub with pretensions. While the path to making the kind of money that let him stop eating from the Fantasy Dollar Store was obscured for now, he held two hopes: that hard work would find it eventually, and that T_sizzle would be patient with him in the meantime.

At least he knew he looked good. An hour in front of the mirror assured that. He was handsome, he was ready, he had fifteen dollars set aside to splurge on T_sizzle. That was like, an entire appetizer and a beer. Would T_sizzle like that? Goddess, why was he waffling on the curb.

With one nervous eye on the clock displayed by his cellphone, Kravitz shoved the door open exactly as the hour changed. Right on time. Hiding the rose behind his back, he scanned the bar for the promised pair of novelty sunglasses. He knew them like the back of his hand. He stared at T_sizzle's cluttered profile picture every night before bed; he saw them in his dreams.

He’d never cherished anyone so desperately as he cherished T_sizzle—or been cherished in return. No matter what happened, this would change his life.

The bar was exactly the kind of place Kravitz didn't like to frequent: crowded, noisy, and grungy. The air smelled like fried food and Fantasy AXE. The ground was sticky beneath the soles of his beaten-up Oxfords. He didn't even want to think about what he was walking on.

This didn’t hold a candle to the romantic atmosphere he envisioned for a meeting this momentous. If he could have his dream date—the students he'd followed in had been joined by several friends and were now crowded around the door, loudly debating table choices, so he found himself pressed up against the 'beer of the month' poster next to a bulletin board for local events—if he could only have his dream date, he'd take T_sizzle to a raucous show, something that would make him laugh without being too bawdy, and then for drinks and dessert, followed by a walk in a park made private by the late hour.

Some nebulous thoughts about art and wine held an enduring appeal for him as well. His brain kept getting stuck on pottery, which was absurd, because no man was ever impressed at pottery night by the skills of someone whose memorable experience came solely from making a lumpy bird’s nest with modeling clay in first grade.

Hopefully some sort of fried onion or potato thing with beer would work far better. Perhaps if they just...didn't put their elbows on the sure-to-be-sticky tables. He should snap one of those tables up, the most private one possible, so he was ready for when T_sizzle came in.

Kravitz started inching his way along the wall, careful to not step on anyone's toes or bend a single rose petal. He cast his gaze around, evaluating. The tables nearest the entrance to the room with the arcade games and dart boards were obviously out. Similarly, the entire far wall was lined with TVs playing different sports, and that would make conversation nigh-impossible. The bar was far too crowded—

And there, sitting at the bar, was Taako. With a familiar pair of rhinestone-studded, novelty sunglasses tucked into the collar of his shirt.

Kravitz did the sensible thing and fled for the bathroom before he could be spotted.

Taako fidgeted on his stool, toying with the sunglasses at his collar. He was going to vibrate out of his skin. He was early, like an eager, thirsty nerd. He—gods, he was so nervous? But he was so excited? What would Trautonium_Corvid look like? Would he like Taako?

It was gonna be awesome, just be cool.

Showtime.

Taako waited, counting off the seconds. Trautonium_Corvid was probably just fashionably late. It was fine. Or, he could be lost in the crowd, squinting at randos for novelty sunglasses. Taako was gonna...sit right here and try not to bounce his leg so hard it could be noticed. Gods, soon, come on, soon he’d meet the man who was definitely... gonna stay, this time, and not be driven off by Taako’s whole thing. He scanned the crowd for a classy, intelligent man with a shitload of musical talent and a rose. Shouldn’t be too hard to recognize, right?

The cramped bathroom stalls had swinging, saloon-style doors that were so small they practically showed your knees, and no lids for the toilets. Kravitz gingerly sat on the rim, placed the rose on top of the toilet paper dispenser, and pulled out his phone.

**Are you at the Full Moon?** he typed. It couldn’t be Taako. He had to be sure. If at all possible, he’d like to prevent his boyfriend from meeting his coworker. A dozen plans to avoid this nightmare scenario spun behind his eyes.

Taako nearly dropped his phone as it buzzed. **I’m here! I’m at the bar, are you here?** (Smiling Face With Heart-Shaped Eyes ) he sent back. That was...was TC here? Right now? _Oh shit be cool!_

Oh, shit. Kravitz was going to hyperventilate. He was having palpitations. Hands shaking, for the first time in months, he intentionally navigated away from his DMs with T_sizzle to the landing page for Grindr.

He went into settings and turned location services on. His heart pounded in his chest while his phone stuttered and struggled. As the map loaded, he swore he could taste blood.

There it was. The little bubble with T_sizzle's profile picture, right next to his.

The screen flashed the logo for his phone’s manufacturer and then plunged into darkness as his phone crashed.

Taako clutched his phone with white knuckles, staring at the screen: _he was here!_ The map confirmed it! Trautonium_Corvid was in the building! But he hadn’t answered the message, so he must be heading over right now, shit shit shit, Taako was all fluttery, just, what do people do? Smile? Smile! Not too much, like an idiot, but don’t look bored, either. Trautonium_Corvid was important, make him feel important, but dammit, so was Taako.

He waited. Please, come on, Taako needed this, it’d been a while, and his last brush with the dating world was shit, come on, universe, just give him this. **Babe, do you see me?**

Double texting. Wow. He couldn’t bring himself to feel desperate, though.

Kravitz rested his forehead against the overwarm plastic of the bathroom stall. The ventilation in here was terrible. He closed his eyes and breathed heavily through his nose.

_Head chef._ Well, he could hardly fault T_sizzle for talking up the position, when he'd gone to such great lengths to avoid confessing that he worked retail. He'd really fucked this whole thing up.

He'd screamed at the man yesterday. He'd taken an instant dislike to Taako and picked and picked at that wound until—well, until he'd earned the enmity.

There wasn't one person he could love. Not without ruining things, apparently. The fake Kravitz, the suave, talented, self-assured man who had his life together, was a lie. The real Kravitz made Taako miserable.

Kravitz balled his fist around the stem of the rose hard enough that the sanded-down root of a thorn dug into his palm. This was truly the worst of all possible words. Fate must be weeping.

Cowering in the bathroom would be grossly unfair to Taako. Kravitz shoved his dead phone in the bag with the rose and stood up. He marched out, back to the bar floor, feeling only slightly faint. He swallowed and found his tongue thick and dry.

Taako was still at the bar, ears alert as he bent over his phone, chic outfit draping off his frame. As always, he was in layers, but he had the good sense to choose items light enough for summer wear. His cardigan was sheer, showing the brilliant robin’s-egg blue of his tunic underneath. He looked gorgeous.

Kravitz hesitated just out of his line of sight. Maybe he'd be wrong after all. There was no one else with sunglasses like his at the bar, but—maybe. Maybe.

He took the plunge and waved.

Taako’s head snapped up, the ‘Oh, _fuck_ no’ clear on his face.

Of all the people to decide to show up, overdressed like a _jackass_ while Taako waited for a real man, _godsdammit._

He fixed Kravitz with a glare. _Fuck off, I’m waiting for someone,_ he thought as hard as he could, and was savagely gleeful to see how Kravitz wilted.

But the asshole persisted. He walked right over and stood over Taako, waffling, and worse yet, blocking Taako’s view of the entrance. "Er, hello, Taako. What brings you here?"

He was acutely aware of the rose in his bag, likely becoming crumpled. Taako’s glare had him feeling faint; he couldn’t imagine handing it over like this.

“None of your business. This seat’s saved, don’t even think about it,” Taako answered crisply. After yesterday, that much civility was a kindness, as far as Taako was concerned. Where had his boy’s location gone? Had he shut his phone off to focus on Taako? Gods! What a gentleman!

"Are you... waiting for someone special?" Kravitz dared to ask. He moved a little to the side and hovered by the empty seat, giving Taako some space.

How had he not seen it before? Why had there ever been any doubt? It was nearly impossible to make out details in T_sizzle’s profile picture, but Taako had the same pointed nose and curved chin, the same bearing to his shoulders. Kravitz’s blood ran cold. He was an idiot.

“Oh my gods, did I not just _say_ it was none of your business?” Taako replied with irritation. Did Kravitz just have no fucking _manners?_ He shamelessly sent another message: **Babe??? Are you here yet?**

It would be unacceptably rude for Kravitz to lean in and see what Taako was typing on his phone. He was tempted anyway. “That’s—that’s completely fair. I’m sorry for prying.” He was sorry for everything, every cruel barb he’d slung Taako’s way. “I didn’t know that you, er, would be…out today. Here. Have you been here before?” 

By the look on Taako’s face, he was absolutely _not about this_. Trautonium_Corvid was creeping past ‘fashionably late’ and into ‘potential stand up’ territory, and here was Taako’s...whatever the fuck Kravitz was—nemesis? all up in his face.

He hit the lock button on his phone, set it down, slapped his hands on the bar, and turned to face Kravitz. “I am meeting someone. I do not feel like dealing with my obnoxious coworker off the clock. What makes you think you can just come over here and talk to me after the shit you said yester—you know what? Don’t even _answer_ that, just go _away.”_

He was done with this and even more done with the sinking feeling that was telling him that it had been too long, and Trautonium_Corvid wasn’t just running late—he wasn’t fucking coming.

Kravitz let his eyes flutter shut for a second. He needed to escape Taako’s furious gaze, if only for the span of a breath. “I’m sorry. I really don’t have any right to approach you like this after yesterday. I wanted to apologize for that. I…I’ve judged you unfairly. I just think maybe there are—a lot of things that we don’t know about each other.”

“I think I know pretty much all I need to know. You’re a cashier with a chip on his shoulder and no ambition. Your hobbies include violin, passive-aggression, being a pompous ass, and bothering pretty boys in bars. That’s it, the full experience. Goodbye.” Taako said.

He turned away from Kravitz and fired off one last, desperate message: **Are you okay? Where are you?** He absolutely could not give up and leave with Kravitz here, nor could he just wait for a boy who never came. Ideal solution: good ol’ TC was saving a kitty from a tree _right outside_ and was like, very buff and would show up and scare Kravitz away in five seconds.

"That's—that's very succinctly put. Perhaps a tad mean." It was quite natural for Taako to think as he did. Kravitz had so carefully controlled how he presented both versions of himself that Taako never had a chance to put the full picture together.

And now it was biting him in the ass. He sat down heavily on the bar stool, feeling like the wind was knocked out of him.

“Seat’s taken, now get out of my face, I’ve already asked! Do you just hate me or something?” Taako snapped.

Kravitz jumped back up. “Taako, I don’t hate you. If your—if it should happen that your, um, party doesn’t show up, I don’t suppose we could…?” Talk, hang out, have a meal. Something, anything to give him a chance to salvage this. He knew he could make Taako laugh. He would eat an entire canister of fake whipped cream to make him laugh like that again.

Taako’s ears went completely flat against his head. Oh, _wow._ The nerve of—was Kravitz _waitlisting himself for Taako’s date_ right now? “I don’t hate you” was news to Taako, like kinda good news, for work purposes, but maybe not exactly the standard to hold for a date, regardless of how upsettingly, infuriatingly hot Kravitz was looking in those pinstripes.

No, come on, this situation was completely fucked. Time to be unmistakably clear, really it would be unfair to be anything else. Kravitz didn’t have a chance with TC in the picture. TC could look like an entire garbage dump and he would still win by a mile on personality alone.

“He’ll come. The man I’m waiting for is steady and dependable. He’s always there when I need him and there’s not a doubt in my mind that he’ll show up today, and _every time,_ for as long as I want him around. Please leave,” Taako said coldly. Kravitz didn’t need to know about the doubts zinging around in his mind. He just needed to get out of the way for Trautonium_Corvid.

He almost felt bad when Kravitz gave him a look like a wounded puppy. Geez, he never would’ve guessed the guy carried a torch, from how he talked. Best to stamp that out, because how fucking awkward. He glared viciously and crossed his arms, projecting dismissal with every fiber of his being.

Kravitz withered in place. "Okay. That's high praise. I— I hope you have a pleasant evening,” he said, already turning away.

Brushing past a hovering waiter, Kravitz walked right out of the bar. Let Taako order something nice for himself. There wasn't anything Kravitz could do for him that wouldn't be upsetting. And that was entirely his fault. How many times had he brooded, or insulted Taako, or at least been passive-aggressive? Had they ever had a conversation that wasn't underscored by Kravitz's resentment?

He was a fool. He'd ruined his chances. Worse yet, he'd badly hurt Taako, and there was nothing he could say in his defense.

But maybe Trautonium_Corvid could get through. On the sidewalk outside, he pulled his cellphone out of his bag. The rose, petals bruised and battered, came with it and tumbled to the ground. He ignored it in favor of depressing the power button and praying.

The power wouldn't cycle. He stepped aside for a passerby, biting his lip. The screen flashed and declared it was time for a system update, then crashed. He was forced to step aside again, squeezing into the narrow strip of shadow cast by the lip of the roof. With the afternoon sun beating down he could barely see the screen, even squinting.

He was being an idiot. There was no mask he could wear that would entice Taako to like him. Taako might be happier never knowing the truth. Kravitz watched the screen flicker with his mind blank, completely unable to envision the conversation that would smooth this over.

His fingertips tingled. His stomach was in knots. Feeling like he was going to be sick, Kravitz shoved off the side of the building and headed back to his lonely apartment.

Taako drummed his fingers on the bar impatiently until Kravitz finally, finally left. Pulling up his phone—no messages—he checked the time.

_Shit._

He wasn’t coming.

Trautonium_Corvid had wormed his way into Taako’s heart, and at a time when he’d been really vulnerable and mistrustful. He’d never pushed or badgered Taako for nudes or sent unwanted dick pics. He’d said he wanted someone to talk to, and even though Taako hadn’t told him what all went down at school he’d been a nice distraction at first, then, somehow, more.

_Gods,_ Taako was an idiot. He could feel himself burning with anger and embarrassment. He pulled out his phone.

**I’m leaving. You’d better have a hell of an explanation.**

No point in doing idiocy halfway. He shoved his phone back into his pocket and headed out of the bar. As he walked out into the heat though, he saw it.

A red rose on the sidewalk. Dropped.

He had been here, and it didn’t take Angus to figure out what had happened. He’d seen Taako with Kravitz, thrown the rose down, and left.

Taako was _incensed._ Kravitz had run his boy off. There. Weren’t. Words.

_Fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, the Full Moon Saloon is a TAZ: Dust reference! I know that's the most pressing concern on everyone's minds.
> 
> For those curious, [ HERE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olPRltvR89c) is the scene Stealthtable used when pitching the premise of this fic to me. Taako and Kravitz at least did a little better than those two, right? Maybe?
> 
> Until next time~~


	13. Here By the Ocean/all alone and in the dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lup makes Taako get some fresh air and practice his emotional honesty.

If Saturday had been hot, Sunday was brutal. The entire beach was like a pressure cooker. The sand seemed to radiate as much heat as the sun, the air was stagnant, and the water was warm enough to melt chocolate. Lup had some kind of tiered double-umbrella setup plus a tarp for her pasty spookboy, who seemed guaranteed to go from the color of overcooked pasta to full lobster if he so much as looked at the sun.

She didn't seem to give a damn about the weather. Nope, she just laughed as Barry scrubbed the melting mascara off her cheeks, then sat way too damn close to spread sunscreen across his back. Blatantly feeling him up, and in front of children!

Angus, because he was a real champ, just rolled his eyes at them and declared that he had his own sunscreen and he and Mavis were going to take Mookie to see the tidepools. Hopefully they’d be able to control the little monster with a joint effort. “You can come with us if you like, Taako,” Angus offered.

“That’s okay, buddy, I’m gonna sit with Lup for a bit,” Taako answered. He didn’t feel much like swimming. He also didn’t want to disappoint Lup or Angus, and he knew a day out would be better for him than staying in, but still. Heartbreak sucked, salt breezes or no. 

He sat down as Angus headed over to the tidepools. “You’re so lucky to have the last good man on earth,” he grumbled dramatically to Lup.

Lup smacked a big, sunscreeny kiss on Barry's shoulder. "I've gotta go help my brother work through his boy troubles, babe. You gonna be okay here?"

Barry turned an utterly besotted look on her. His glasses were steaming up. Though that could've been the weather as much as Lup's teeny weeny bikini."Yeah, I brought that book you gave me. Go have fun, babe. And uh, hope you feel better soon, Taako!"

Lup traipsed over to Taako and flumped down in the sand next to him. “Quick, while the kids are nice n’ distracted—dish deets. What happened with your birdman that had you back early and blasting Mayday Parade? Did he turn out to be a total douche?”

“Get this: he didn’t even come in! Kravitz showed up and wouldn’t leave me alone, and he must’ve seen us and thought the wrong thing. He was supposed to bring me a rose and I found it all crumpled on the sidewalk like my _fucking heart,”_ Taako moaned. 

Somehow that hurt worse than either of the alternatives. Trautonium_Corvid coming in and making a scene would’ve sucked in the moment, even if it did also bolster a certain part of Taako’s ego. Trautonium_Corvid not coming at all would’ve been disappointing, but maybe explainable, people missed dates and appointments sometimes, life happens.

But knowing that Trautonium_Corvid had seen him, seen Kravitz, and _left?_ That spelled rejection, either for Taako’s appearance (ouch) or his reputation (double ouch), and the discarded rose told a pretty ugly story. Taako could explain, but...he wasn’t sure how to go about it, or if he’d even have the chance.

No, wait, maybe this was Trautonium_Corvid’s fault.

Taako waved a hand flippantly. “I always wind up with shitty ones, even before Sazed. ‘Member how many followers I had? Gone, just like that. Fucking douche.”

Lup bumped their shoulders together. “I didn’t know this was Sazed-grade angst. I shouldn’t have let you sulk all afternoon alone, that was my bad. Next time I’ll bust your door down. Have you talked to this guy since, ‘Ko?”

“No. I sent him a text demanding he explain before I found the rose, but now...like if I explain without him asking that sounds guilty, right, like too much? But if I don’t say anything it looks like a secret.” Taako sighed. “I’m done with men, I’ll just be alone forever. I can third wheel with you and Barold.”

“I say this with love, but you are absolutely one-hundo percent definitely _not invited_ to third wheel for me and my teddybear.” Lup slung an arm around his shoulders. She was sunscreen-sticky, but somehow not sweating despite the sun’s ongoing efforts to boil them alive. “It’s gonna be okay. I’m really sorry your shitty coworker ran off your date, that’s not cool of him. But this job’s still a great opportunity. Kravitz isn’t your boss. He can’t get you kicked out of anything.”

“I know. I know that,” Taako grumbled. Maybe it wasn’t Taako’s fault _or_ TC’s, either. It was Kravitz’s. Yeah, that sounded right. “I’m so pissed at him, though, you wouldn’t believe. You ‘member how he yelled at me that time? We fought so bad on Friday that Ango broke it up. It was horrible.” He snorted with irritation. “I’m gonna dye my hair and move to France. My new name is Claude.”

Lup scritched his scalp with sandy fingers. “Angus told me. And you’re not allowed to cut your hair over a boy. Have fun in France, though, buy me some stinky cheese. But like, you want me to yell at Krav for you? It’s hella creepy that he showed up at the bar you had your date at. My stalker senses are tingling.”

“I might. If he comes back to the roof, for _sure,_ maybe just Sparta-kick him off. I’ll yell at him some more if he’s gross or whatever, but, like,” he floundered. “I hate it? It feels shitty? I hate fighting with him a lot? I don’t know.”

This was a new revelation, and it didn’t fit neatly with everything else in Taako’s mind. He didn’t care about Kravitz, it shouldn’t matter if they yelled at each other any more than it would with a stranger on the street. But their fights felt bad, in a way Taako couldn’t pin down. It was frustrating, Kravitz being able to stir up some unnamed emotion he couldn’t ignore. Bastard.

“Best-case scenario, it was a total coincidence and he had no idea what he was interrupting. Maybe you could even squeeze an apology out of him.” Lup prodded Taako’s elbow with a conspicuously filed-down fingernail. She’d removed her acrylics right after she got together with Barry, which gave Taako way more information about her sex life than he wanted. “But like, what about TC? Have you heard anything since the date? It’s super not cool of him to ditch you like that. If he thinks you would ever cheat on him, then he doesn’t know you at all.”

“Nothing. I’m hoping he’s just trying to sort through it. I really like him,” Taako confessed. “Although, like…’Trautonium_Corvid’? What a name, right? I laughed when I saw it at first, he’s always good at making me laugh.” Taako slumped a little and brushed at his sandy hair. If anything else had been wrong, he would’ve messaged TC and been consoled and cheered up in five seconds. Lup was here, and she was a lifesaver, but it was _different._ Sandier, for one thing.

“Gotta say, that name makes me picture a spooky goth boy.” Lup laughed and made to ‘help’ Taako brush out his hair…with a sneakily-concealed fresh fistful of sand.

“Gods! _Whyyyyy,_ you’re killing me, you’re killing your brother!” Taako cried.

After a brief scuffle in which sand went flying literally everywhere and Barry looked up from his book in alarm, Taako managed to beat Lup back enough times that she grew bored and dropped the remnants of her fistful of sand. Donning her most innocent expression—dunno why she bothered, he’d been wise to her bullshit since age three—she dusted her hands off and wiped them clean on Taako’s swim trunks. “Back to your goth jerkwad of a boyfriend,” she prompted.

Taako coughed a little, self-consciously, and forced a chuckle. “Pfft, takes one to know one. But yeah, TC probably is, he probably just like, sits there and _broods,_ gods, like a vampire or gargoyle or something. But he’s sweet at least. Here’s what I don’t get: he’s really, really consistent, like disciplined. I expected him to be right on time, it’s super weird he wouldn’t show at all. Out of pattern, y’know?”

That was the thing, wasn’t it? Because really there were more possibilities than Taako had first assumed. If he’d been in TC’s shoes and saw what he’d seen...well, Taako was so far gone he’d be inclined to overlook it, try to forgive.

He’d never asked for exclusivity, even though he’d given it. Was that fucked up? A little? Maybe. But anyway, if he’d seen it and was upset but didn’t go in, he might’ve chewed TC out via text, or at least demanded an explanation. Why wasn’t Taako...in trouble?

Was _that_ fucked up? Probably? Almost certainly, it kinda rested on assumptions that hadn’t really been codified into boundaries. As though Taako was good at those anyway.

Did TC just think ghosting was the kindest way? ‘Cause it wasn’t. It was shitty and it hurt. And Taako was sad, sitting next to the Pacific under a blue sky and a broiling sun, pouring out a solid 35% of his woes to Lup, with her understanding a good 50% more, leaving the rest a mystery even to himself. Honestly? He didn’t fucking deserve this bullshit.

Lup nodded thoughtfully, chewing the chapstick off her lower lip. “It’s super weird of him to ditch you, and you’re an entirely faithful and attentive pseudo-boyfriend. When was the last time you made eyes at another guy? Never.”

She regularly gave him shit for not even trying to meet other guys when they went out together. She always said she didn’t get why he fell into texting only Mr. Stock-Violin-Photo. Before Sazed, he’d been big on social media. Not influencer-status, but he’d had thousands of followers, several social circles. And now he was attached to some rando whose face he didn’t even know.

He glared at the way she was smiling so gently at him, like he was some kind of cute small animal she was trying to comfort. Gods, this was the worst. When did Lup become the mature one? Like two months ago she knocked her flat iron off the counter and lit their bathroom trashcan on fire, then laughed at his ensuing panic, as if she didn’t understand arson charges or security deposits or burning to death. The smell didn’t come out for weeks.

She squeezed his shoulder and he died a little inside from the sheer mortification. “This isn’t on you, babe. If TC really got in that much of a huff just cuz you talked to Kravitz, then he doesn’t deserve you. Also, honestly, his username sounds serial killer-y to me. Pretty sure it’s a Hitchcock ref. Who _does_ that, for _Grindr?”_

“That’s true. Don’t really dig the idea of getting killed. Ugh. Like my head knows that it’s probably for the best but this _suuuuucks,_ I really like him,” Taako moaned. “Sorry, I’ll try to get it together. It’s beach day, right? Thanks for letting me whine.”

"Hey, you're doing great just being here for the fam." Lup patted his arm, this time with no sand. "It's alright if you wanna sit back and angst. None of the kids look like they're gonna drown in half a foot of water."

Angus was sitting at the sunbaked edge of the tidepools with his back to them. Mavis seemed to have Mookie under control by herself, wading after him and occasionally urging that he not touch something. Normally, when Merle had custody, he’d come along on these beach trips. But he was off on an old man date. Literally everyone’s love lives were going better than Taako’s.

He tried to smile a little. “Thanks, Lulu.” He was still feeling a horrifying swirl of emotions around both Trautonium_Corvid and Kravitz, but he could relax for now and enjoy the beach. It was better than taking to his bed like a spurned Regency Era heroine for the second day in a row, anyhow. Seeing Lup with Barry gave him little zaps of jealousy, but talking with her helped a lot.

It was all just a big misunderstanding and he could untangle this thing yet, even if that meant moving forward solo. He kinda hoped it wouldn’t, though. He’d wait to hear what Trautonium_Corvid had to say. He turned his attention back to the beach.

Eventually, Mookie found a double-handful of gnarly seaweed to chase Mavis around with and Angus had to step in to help before one of them tripped and skinned a knee. He tossed the glob of seaweed back out to the ocean for the tide to carry away. Mookie ran whooping after it into the surf and Angus wandered back over to the twins. “Hey sir and ma’am. I think we’re done with the tidepools. Are you both having a good time?”

Taako looked up. “Yeah, think I’ll go in swimming,” he answered. “You all wanna?”

Angus glanced over to Barry delicately. “I’m not sure Mr. Bluejeans can swim, sir,” he answered.

Taako laughed outright. _Mr. Bluejeans_. Fuck, even if Barry had some other name on his license that was still awesome, and Taako needed the laugh. “Hey Barold!” he called. “C’mere, Angus here says you can’t swim, but we’ll show him, huh? I’ll teach you!”

This afternoon was just what Taako needed, the beach and family and fun. Thank fuck for a good distraction. For now, TC could sit and spin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*+{BLUPJEANS DATE TRACKER}+*~
> 
> 3) Sunday the 16th of June:  
-Barry let his girlfriend's brother steal her for a feelings talk and then nearly drown him. He ended the day sunburnt, sandy, and sore. But Lup slathered him in kisses and aloe, so... Worth it!
> 
> LOVE METER: (Skull ) (Kiss Mark )  

> 
> Bonus points to anyone who can get the reference Krav was making with 'Trautonium_Corvid'!


	14. Many Things That I Would Like to Say to You/but I don’t know how

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anyway here's Wonderwall

Kravitz was almost numb to the pain of it all when he finally crawled back to Far Corners at 9 am sharp on Tuesday. He didn't even care how Taako had managed without him the previous day.

Sunday had been awful. He spent the day alone with his thoughts, anxiety spiraling into a tight noose as he lay curled beneath his quilt, clad in boxers and a satin sleeping cap. He couldn't make himself get dressed.

All he accomplished that day was blowing his $15 in date money losing at online poker, and then crawling out of bed to eat some of the dollar store frozen single-serving birthday cake he'd hoarded. When it wasn't even his birthday yet. He lit a candle anyway, for ambience, because a Fantasy BuzzFeed listicle said it might help reduce stress.

Of course, his stress only compounded, because the lashes of iniquity would not slacken for his broken heart. Wasting Sunday forced him to call out sick on Monday so he could practice for his exam. And after all that, the instructor declared his performance jittery.

Leading up to Tuesday, he couldn’t bring himself to text Taako under the guise of Trautonium_Corvid. How could they have anything resembling a conversation? There was nothing Kravitz could say, in his defense or otherwise. Taako had every right to hate both versions of him.

Taako, who was handsome and vivacious and just out of reach behind the flimsy kitchen door. So close, yet so far. Kravitz threw himself down on the stool and half-heartedly poked at the register. His ears strained after every scrape of spoon against bowl and every slammed cabinet.

In the kitchen, Taako viciously kneaded the absolute shit out of some dense, sticky bread dough. He was not a man given to _starting_ fights, not deliberately, anyway, that was far too dangerous. But the next time Kravitz called out was gonna be for his fucking funeral, either because he was already dead or because Taako was gonna kill him.

Taako had come in to work on Monday to find a slightly harried looking Brad there, ready to rush Taako through a crash course on the register and press a list of essential to-dos into his hand, then vanish back to his day job. The kitchen remained closed, with a sign declaring, ‘Sorry for the inconvenience’. Taako held things together with so much metaphorical chewing gum until Carey came in, then planned out the next two weeks’ menus during the rest of his shift.

After beating the dough into submission and covering it to rise, Taako strode out to refresh the displays and saw a wilted, dejected Kravitz slumped on his stool by the register.

“So glad to see you decided to show up,” Taako sniped. “Don’t really relish being abandoned to pick up the pieces around here.”

"I have never called out sick before," Kravitz truthfully informed him. "You seem to have managed fine without me, for the most part." The store's inbox was atrociously backlogged, but nothing was on fire, and that was about as far as Kravitz could bring himself to care.

Taako was devastatingly gorgeous in his fury. How had Kravitz ignored his beauty for so long? Now that his affection for the paltry shadow on his phone screen had come to naught, he was forced to confront the harsh light of reality. And of the overhead fluorescents, which somehow contrived to make Taako's jawline as sharp as his eyeliner.

Maybe it was easier to idealize the unobtainable after the seeds of desire were planted. Or his brain was punishing him for his cowardice with inappropriate boners. “Do you need me for anything, or…?”

“Not a single thing,” Taako muttered. He clattered around, arranging the various sausages and cheeses on the trays. He supposed he shouldn’t be upset that Kravitz had been sick, though he suspected it was more a case of embarrassment. Good. His behavior was embarrassing; this was just the natural consequences in action.

Taako had heard neither jack nor shit from Trautonium_Corvid. Honestly, it seemed bleak. He didn’t want to text into the void, but a chance to explain _’No, I didn’t double-book myself on dates, I intended to focus on you and enjoy your company but my dipshit coworker interrupted’_ would be nice. Maybe if he just gave it some time?

At least Kravitz seemed somewhat chastened. It was hard to be too mean to his sad little face, unfortunately. Taako picked up the empty tray and headed back to the kitchen. Time to ignore the problem.

As the morning stretched on, Kravitz tracked Taako's every movement out of the corner of his eye while preparing the stock orders he should've done yesterday. Tension hammered up his spine. His breath came out as a shrill wheeze of relief whenever Taako vanished back into the kitchen.

He had no idea how he was going to cope with seeing Taako every weekday after unknowingly ruining things with him. The worst thing was, after playing for him on Thursday night, it was too easy to imagine the way things could've been. No one had ever been that enthralled by his music (except perhaps Merle, but he didn't count). 

Sharing his passion, his hard work, was an intimacy that he seldom experienced. And it had gone well. Despite all his fears, that one perfect evening had gone so, so well.

Taako had been the one to comfort Kravitz at the lowest point in his life. Who listened to his troubles and shared his own in turn. Who made Kravitz laugh through tears. Despite everything Kravitz held back in his persona as Trautonium_Corvid, there was no doubt in his mind that Taako knew him better than anyone else alive.

Now his options were to lie to Taako, or come clean and face his wrath redoubled. And the first one wasn't an option at all; Taako didn't deserve such deceit.

Shakily, Kravitz tabbed over to recheck the inventory. Then he extracted cleaning supplies from the cabinet and busied himself wiping fingerprints off the glass cases.

There was nothing he could do to further his own happiness. The noose tightened, minute by minute. He was acutely aware that all that was left to him were his menial service job, and his studies, and the inevitability of retribution.

The bell rang over the shop door, heralding the timely entry of one Angus McDonald. “Hello, sir,” he greeted Kravitz. Instead of beelining for the packed orders, as was custom—because it was a Tuesday, with no deliveries scheduled!—he surveyed the shop floor, nodding with satisfaction to find it empty.

Alarm bells rang in Kravitz’s head. Angus strode over to him, all smiling guile. “I need to ask you a few questions for a case I’m working on,” he said, pulling his phone from his pocket. “This is you, correct, Mr. Kravitz?”

He held up the phone to display a MySpace page with a video ready to play, entitled “Wonderwall - Euphonium Cover” and dated several years back, posted by a user called trautonium96corvid and pretty obviously featuring a younger Kravitz, ready to serenade the internet.

Nothing could have prepared Kravitz for this. Confronted with the static image of his sophomore haircut—he’d decided he wanted dreads but hadn’t learned how to care for them, or had time to grow them out, so his head resembled an overgrown tarantula wrapped in a wig—his pupils dilated. His throat constricted.

“Where—why—where did you get that?” he wheezed. Shouldn’t a video that old be deleted by now? Surely the internet didn’t grant gruesome immortality to such embarrassments! He hadn’t thought of his MySpace in _years._

“The internet is forever, sir,” Angus replied. “And sometimes folks reuse favorite usernames on multiple sites. Isn’t that true? Finding your YouTube was a piece of cake.”

Kravitz's face went ashy. During high school, he'd done an entire series of ridiculous covers with instruments borrowed from the band hall. The directors indulgently allowed him to practice anything he wanted, provided he cleaned up after himself. That had been his primary occupation from sophomore to junior year. There must be dozens of those videos still out there on the internet for anyone to find. And to think, once he'd danced with excitement because his piccolo cover of ‘Don Juan Triumphant’ finally hit ten views.

He thought the intervening years had made him safe, with no social media under his real identity. There should be nothing to connect him to the name Trautonium_Corvid except his face in those videos. “Why did you even look?”

“I’m a detective, sir, call me curious.” Angus pressed play on the video. The peppy piano chords of Kravitz’s cheesy intro music started right up. “These videos sure are something, but let’s focus on my real question: where else might someone find you online under a similar username?”

Kravitz brandished his battered, ancient phone like a talisman. “I barely access the internet these days. How could I, on this? I don’t have Twitter, or Snapchat, or...”

“There are many social media sites though, Mr. Kravitz. Think hard, anywhere else?” Angus asked. He hit the volume button to turn it up a couple of clicks.

Kravitz sent up a prayer to the Raven Queen, hoping against hope that it wouldn't be accompanied by the noise that spilled from the speakers. _"Hi, I go by Corvid, and this is part eight in my video series! I got my hands on this euphonium, so today—"_

“PLEASE turn that off,” Kravitz talked rapidly over his younger self. Angus stared him down. It was horrendously unfair that he was so much more put together than Kravitz could have dreamed of being at that age. As the video made clearly evident. “Before anyone hears! I have, I have a LinkedIn that I’m sure you found, and a SoundCloud, a Bandcamp… Fantasy Tumblr…”

Angus’s finger hovered over the screen. “And? Anywhere else, Mr. Kravitz, or shall we start at part one of the series?”

“No, that’s everything, I promise.” Kravitz cast a frantic look towards the kitchen door. If Taako walked in, he’d change his prayer to a plea for the Raven Queen to enfold his soul into her grace. Because the embarrassment would strike him dead.

Angus peered into his eyes. Kravitz broke out in a cold sweat. “And that’s the whole truth? No Twitter, no Instagram? No _Grindr,_ sir?” he pressed, still with his finger at the ready.

Kravitz’s mouth dropped open. “You don’t know what that is!”

Angus pressed the volume button again, up a couple more clicks. “Are you sure about that, sir? Are you _very_ sure?”

Horrified, Kravitz watched his younger self's cheeks quiver behind the euphonium's mouthpiece. The quality of Angus's speakers made Wonderwall sound so much worse. "Please, Angus, you're literally killing me. Why do you want to know about Grindr?!"

It was obvious, though. There could only be one reason.

Angus pressed pause on the video. “This seems like an uncomfortable subject for you, sir. Let’s talk about something else. It’s very nice having more help in the store now that Taako’s here, isn’t it?” he asked.

“_Taako_ talked to _you_ about _Grindr?”_

“That wasn’t my question, sir.” Angus pressed play on the video again. “When Mr. Bradson announced the job opening, my first assumption was that you two would get along. But then you had that fight on Friday.”

The younger Kravitz on the screen blatted out a particularly enthusiastic note. Current Kravitz put his face in his hands. “Gods, Angus, stop torturing me. You clearly know what’s going on already, though I can’t imagine how!”

“Why don’t you explain what’s going on, sir? I’m sure you understand it in far more detail than I do.” Angus pressed the pause button again. “I’ll turn this off a minute so you can talk.”

“I don’t have to explain anything to you.” Kravitz crossed his arms. “Why are you prying into my failures? What concern is this of yours? Did Taako send you?”

Angus shook his head and pocketed his phone. “Well, I’m sure my next interview will clear things up. I just thought you deserved a chance to tell your side of the story first. You’ve always been very nice to work with. Do you know if Taako’s busy?”

“What are you going to say to Taako?” The wheels in Kravitz’s head spun. Did Taako not already know? Could this be salvaged?

Angus stared Kravitz down again. “Is there something you’d rather I don’t tell Taako? You know, I’ve known Taako since I was a little boy. I told him about this job because he’s a very good chef and a very good person. If someone’s hiding a secret that could hurt him, I think he deserves to know, don’t you?”

“Taako got this job because of you?” Kravitz thought he couldn’t be any more shocked. That explained why Brad had been confident to rush him through the interview process. “You recommended him?”

Angus nodded. “Taako used to be my babysitter. He and Lup took me to the beach for the first weekend of summer vacation, but he was sad and I overheard him telling Lup that a man on Grindr had stood him up, and that you had also been at the bar. That sounded like a mystery, and I’m sure you know what I found when I began investigating the man’s username.” Angus put his hands on his hips. “So now, sir, why don’t you tell me your side of the story?”

“I did not stand Taako up.” Kravitz puffed out his chest, feathers thoroughly ruffled. “When I realized who he was, I made every effort for peace between us! I apologized for Friday! And he was nothing but mean in return.”

“Sir, it’s clear from what I heard on the beach that he’s worried his internet boyfriend believes he was cheating with you.”

“That’s ridiculous. How could he have drawn that conclusion? All we did at the bar was talk for maybe five minutes. He wouldn’t even let me sit down.”

Angus leveled a flat look at him. “Taako said he found a rose dropped on the sidewalk. He believes the man stood there, saw the two of you, became angry, threw the rose down, and left without speaking to him. He deserves to know the truth and make his own decisions. Do you plan on telling him?”

There was an implicit threat there. If Kravitz didn’t spill the beans, Angus would. He was beginning to understand how the boy managed his detective work so effectively.

“Dammit, Taako…” Kravitz murmured. “I— Please, I’ll figure something out. I knew it was unkind of me to ignore his messages, but… I never imagined he would assume any fault for what happened. I didn’t want to hurt him, I promise. Let me figure out a way to salvage this. Without him hating me.”

“I won’t tell him, sir. I’ll let you two sort your problems out. But I don’t like seeing him so sad, or seeing you sad, either.”

Kravitz deflated. Angus’s concern for him was a kindness he hadn’t asked for, or expected. “I know I’ve made a mess of this. I— Thank you for giving me another chance. Is he, is he really hurt?”

Angus’s expression was inscrutable. “He was sad enough to make Lup so concerned that she left her lover to read a book under a beach umbrella alone while she comforted him.”

Leaving aside the word ‘lover’ coming out of Angus’s mouth, which was a viscerally unpleasant auditory experience… “I’ll message him right away.” Kravitz pulled up the app. “Um, could you… Check on him? Maybe ask if there’s anything I can do to help around the shop?”

“Sure, I can do that for you while you’re busy being a coward. Have a good rest of the day, sir!” Angus said cheerfully. He pushed open the kitchen door and was gone.

Kravitz gripped the edge of the counter and brought his breathing down to normal. He schooled his face and stood up straight. He still had to be ready to open in...only twenty minutes.

Taako looked up sharply and smiled to see it was Angus entering the kitchen, knocking on the door only after it closed behind him. Angus always made him smile. “Hey sir, how did running the register end up going yesterday?”

“Hey, Ango! It was real rough, buddy, I was kinda out there without a net, y’know. Hey, wait a minute, you’re not scheduled today, what’re you doing here?”

“I thought I’d drop in and say hi,” Angus said, plunking down on the counter. There was no other soul on earth except _maybe_ Lup who could get away with putting their ass on Taako’s workspace. “You seemed a little stressed at the beach, so I was worried! And I thought I’d ask you a couple questions.”

Hoo boy. Questions from the kid detective. “Aw, thanks, buddy, that’s sweet. Don’t worry about me, okay? I’ve got some adult problems, but I’ll be fine.” Taako rinsed and toweled off his hands. He was very familiar with Angus’s investigations, though usually he had more of a heads-up when the kid needed a consultation. “Am I a suspect, Mister Detective? Did the cops send you? Am I being detained?” he teased.

Angus laughed. He crossed his ankles and flashed his most charming grin at Taako. But his expression seemed undercut by a current of guilt. “Not a suspect, sir! Maybe a key witness. It’s just that I overheard you and Ms. Lup talking on the beach, and then you were so stressed yesterday. I want you to tell me honestly, Taako. Have you been enjoying his job?”

Taako sighed. He’d known this conversation was coming since Friday. “I am. Cross my heart. I know you heard that blowout me and Kravitz had, and you handled that like a champ. Sometimes people get upset, but that wasn’t your problem or your fault, okay? I really like it here, even though sometimes _certain people_ and I don’t get along very well.”

There: short, sweet, and honest enough that Angus wouldn’t spend the next forty minutes prying his feelings out of him. Over their friendship, Taako had _learned_ what the consequences for stonewalling Angus McDonald were. Still, the kid didn’t need to know about his boy drama, or any little hint that might put said boy drama on his radar.

“I wanted this job to be a good opportunity for you.” Angus fidgeted with his hands in his lap. “I’d feel really guilty if it went badly. I’m glad you’re okay, but if that’s ever not the truth, then I want to know. Please?”

“Promise, buddy. I’m really happy you told me about it, I’ve always wanted my own kitchen and here I am! And on top of that, I get to work with you!” Taako replied cheerfully. He gave Angus his best smile. Angus generally got the best, most ‘mature’ version of him; the kind of elf he wouldn’t have imagined he could be, six years ago. The schmoopy afterschool special version.

“I’m so glad, sir. You deserve your own kitchen. You’re a really good chef.” Angus’s returning smile still held a hint of guilt…and a heaped teaspoon of guile. “I had a talk with Mr. Kravitz and he promised to apologize, so you should tell me if he doesn’t!”

Taako laughed. This kid should run the shop, his conflict resolution skills were on point. “Thank you, my dude, I will, definitely,” he answered. Precious.

Some of the tension left Angus’s frame. But Taako could tell that there was something on the tip of his tongue. The kid had learned tact over the years. Still, when it came to solving mysteries, he tended to push.

At least he <s>loved</s> liked Taako. Naturally. Taako was great, and their friendship had always been a pretty sweet deal for Angus. Whatever nosy question or bombshell he was polishing would probably suck a lot worse, otherwise. Angus could give an alarmingly expert third-degree for a kid who wore vintage eyeglasses and socks up to his knees.

“So,” he started, then paused. “Sir, can you tell me why you weren’t able to finish culinary school, and what Sazed had to do with that?”

Taako’s whole body felt like a sack of marbles, no structure, just _flump._ How was he gonna explain this to a kid? How did Angus even know that name? He must’ve overheard something somewhere, his ears were sharp. Then again, Angus was growing up fast. Maybe the kid should know what kind of bullshit to look out for as an adult.

“Oof, buddy, that’s...that’s quite a story,” Taako said. He sighed. “Now, I’m not going to lie to you or anything, mostly because I know you’re too smart to buy it. But I don’t really want to get into this on a workday, you feel me, bubbeleh? I’m not saying I’m not going to tell you, but how about just not right now? Later? Can later be good?”

Angus gave him a sympathetic look. He gulped a little air and continued, “Okay, so I’ll lay out the _basics_: he was in my classes, I cooked with him, it fucking sucked and he made it weird, and later I got expelled but he still tried to harass me on social media. I had to block him on everything and eventually I just decided it was time to reinvent myself. I’m a new elf now, stalker-free.”

Angus hopped off the counter and hugged Taako around his middle. “You obviously abridged pretty much all of that, but thank you for telling me what you did. I remember how upset you were that summer.” He smiled up at Taako, his glasses smudged from pressing into his apron.

Of all people, Angus really understood what it meant for Taako to pour his heart out like that. He wasn’t vulnerable for just anyone. Angus continued, “I promise I didn’t ask just to be nosy. I care about you, sir, and you didn’t deserve to go through that.”

Taako returned Angus’s hug. Gods, did he trust Angus, and care for him. The kid was family, practically. “I care about you, too, kiddo. It’s sweet you’re looking out for me. I promise I have it handled. And see, now you know, don’t trust skeevy guys, online or IRL, huh?”

He huffed a laugh. It was still a little mind-boggling to go from catching more than one of Angus’s baby teeth to talking to him about this stuff, but there it was, the steady march of time or whatever. He gave Angus a smile. “Is my name cleared in your investigation, detective?”

“Of course your name is clear,” Angus said, giving Taako one final squeeze and hopping back up on the counter. It wasn’t that comfortable a spot, since he was tall enough now that he had to bend forward pretty far or else bang the back of his head on the cabinet. But old habits die hard; Taako had been letting him get away with sitting on counters for years. “Would you describe your online boyfriend as a ‘skeevy guy’?”

Taako chuckled evasively. “My who now? I don’t have an online boyfriend, Ango.” That was...possibly, sadly true, at this point. It didn’t look good, honestly.

Angus leveled a serious look at him. “Sir, I’m not going to tell you how to define your relationship, but I’m obviously asking about one Trautonium_Corvid.”

Oh godsdammit. Taako sighed. “Angus...I’m not even gonna ask how you found out about him, but I’m pretty sure...look, y’know, sometimes misunderstandings happen, relationships are complicated. I don’t think he wants to talk to me right now, or maybe ever. It happens.” Taako would have to change his phone’s passcode, clearly. Hopefully the kid hadn’t seen anything too explicit.

“I have a feeling he won’t wait too much longer to reply to you, Taako. A new week means new perspective!” Angus gave a chipper wink that was one-hundred percent an imitation of the Taako brand. “But, before he stood you up, would you have thought he was the kind of person to so brazenly play with your heart?”

Welp, clearly Angus knew everything— The beach. Fuckin’ duh. The tidepools weren’t that far out, damn it all. Guess humans could hear better than he thought. Taako turned away from Angus a little, fidgeting with the dish towel. “I didn’t think so, but apparently you can’t trust anyone,” he muttered.

"I trust you." Angus looked away sadly and continued as if he was speaking to the stand mixer. "If it wasn't for everything you do for me, I probably wouldn't be allowed to keep living with my grandpa. I want to thank you for that again." 

He brightened and turned back to Taako. “You’re a really good friend, sir. I think Trautonium_Corvid knows that too. If he can’t work things out with you, that’s his fault. But please don’t assume he won’t try. I don’t think he’s a complete douche. You’re too smart to have fallen for a Sazed.”

Taako suppressed an affectionate laugh. “Don’t mention it, buddy.” He felt for Angus, who really should have more time to just be a kid, but with his grandfather’s health...Taako did the best he could. They all pitched in. Angus needed someone and Taako would not let him go without.

He tossed his head proudly. “I’m sure you’re right, you’re a smart one! You don’t have to worry about ol’ Taako, though, it’d be TC’s loss. Now, you gonna hang out with me here, or do you have more clues to look for?”

“Oh, I always have more clues to look at. I could work from my phone—but I notice you’re not doing much cooking, sir, and I’d hate to get you in trouble!” Angus grinned cheekily.

Taako snorted with amusement. “I’m the boss in this kitchen, young man,” he teased. “No one tells me what to do!”

Angus was always welcome in Taako’s kitchen, but it was his day off, too. Taako didn’t wanna just keep moping at the boy when he should be enjoying himself; he only had a few more summers before adult life blurred all the seasons into one incomprehensible grind under the harsh reality of capitalism. Let him have fun before he started to get that nagging feeling that his hobbies were wasteful or that his joy was worthless. “Stay as long as you like, or go have fun, kiddo. Good luck on your case,” he said with a wink.

“Thank you, sir. I think we made good progress.” Angus gave a mock-salute and headed for the door. “I’ve got to hit the pavement for the rest of today, but I’ll see you soon!”

“Bye, Ango,” Taako answered. He looked over the counter. Nearly done with the prep work. He shaped the bread loaves, popped them in the oven, and put together a sandwich for display.

When he ran out of things to do before the lunch rush, he stalled. Time to, uhhhhh, check his phone for the millionth time, maybe learn how to, hmmm, redo upholstery via YouTube tutorials, maybe just anything that was _not_ ‘pathetically melt down in Trautonium_Corvid’s DMs’ _or_ ‘leave the kitchen and wind up in another fight with Kravitz’.

No new messages yet. He shoved the phone back in his pocket and picked up the plate with the sandwich. He squared his shoulders and walked out to the front.

Kravitz startled when Taako strode out and jerked his textbook off the counter to hide it. He froze, reconsidering, and feigned calmness as he readjusted it in his lap. He knew better now. Taako wouldn't care that he was reading on the job. And there was no point to his 'gargoyle' routine anymore. Taako was never once impressed by his undue diligence.

While his absorption was a pretense, he did need to focus; he was catastrophically behind on the reading for _Uplifting the Cycle through Music._ There were likely only a few more minutes until the first customers came in—fifteen minutes after opening was typical. But his fingers itched for his phone, and his mind wheeled through what he could say to Taako in apology.

Taako painstakingly, artfully, took his sweet time situating the sandwich in the display case. He’d noticed Kravitz’s textbook—that would explain his short hours—but ignored him. Kravitz didn’t _matter._ Kravitz _thought_ he mattered, but he _didn’t,_ and that was where it all started, wasn’t it? Kravitz didn’t get to be the king of all or whatever, and his little tantrum had spilled over into Taako’s personal life and cost him Trautonium_Corvid, who _did_ matter.

Clearing his throat, Kravitz tried to offer Taako a smile.

Taako turned and glared. The audacity of this bitch. Just goes around wrecking homes and smiles after, for fuck’s sake.

He locked eyes with Kravitz and pulled out his phone. **We’ll need Muenster pretty soon, if you could please include the usual amount on the next order, Kravitz**, he typed without breaking eye contact.

He sent the message to the group chat, locked his phone, and shoved it into his pocket. “What do you think you’re looking at?” he snapped, then turned to head back to the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Elmo voice*: Communication!
> 
> BY NOW YOU SHOULD'VE SOMEHOW REALIZED WHAT YOU GOTTA DO, _KRAVITZ_


	15. Glitter in the dark/magic in my veins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys rethread the needles of their fates.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
Hello there, love. I’m sorry I didn’t message you sooner.   
  
What happened? I waited for ages :(   
  
I never meant to leave you alone there. Please don’t think it was your fault.   
  
I was so pissed, and my stupid coworker showed up and bothered me. Are you okay? Did something happen?   
  
... I can’t tell you how sorry I am. Are you okay?   
  
I’m...ugh. I’m upset. I was so worried, I thought maybe you were just tryna fuck with me or that you got in an accident or, gods, a hundred things. It’s been hell (Crying Face )   
  
No, there was no accident. And I would never do that to you. I was there, briefly, but you didn't really see me.   
  
Please believe me when I say that I deeply wish our date had gone as well as we had hoped for.   
  
You saw me? Why didn’t you come talk to me, I don’t bite unless you’re like, into that, y’know (Winking Face )   
  
I suppose I was scared. Maybe this anonymity was a bad decision all along. At least, that’s what I’ve been wondering.   
  
A bad decision? What do you mean babe?   
  
Talking to you was never a bad decision. Talking to you was one of the best decisions I've ever made.   
  
We could have known each other better, though, had we allowed our lives to intersect more.   
  
My phone crashed, by the way. I tried to use the map to make sure I could find you. And then I couldn’t get it to turn back on until much too late. I still feel terrible about that.   
  
I know I seemed pretty desperate and shitty. I’m sorry for that, it wasn’t even all at you, either. Do you think, maybe, we can try again? We can be less anonymous?   
  
That sounds... Like exactly what I've been hoping for. And you've never seemed desperate or shitty to me. At this point, I'd have no excuse to not recognize your brilliance.   
  
I feel like I should be making some kind of goof here to lighten the mood. But I don't want to belie how sincerely sorry I am.   
  
I would very much like to try again. Because I care. I really do. I don’t want things between us to end terribly.   
  
Thank fuck, I thought...well a lot of things, I was afraid you didn’t wanna talk to me anymore and that would kinda suck. I’m sorry, too <3   
  
Let's take this from the top, shall we.   
  
Hello, I hope I’m not being too forward by messaging you like this. You happened to catch my eye. Say the word and I’ll be gone, but you seem like a thoughtful, witty, and intelligent person. I can’t promise that I’m always any of the above, or even sometimes any of the above, but, if you’re willing, I’d like to get to know you. <3   
  
I would very much like to try again. Because I care. I really do. I don’t want things between us to end terribly.   
  
Omg your first message! (Smiling Face With Heart-Shaped Eyes ) Holy shit my sides are splitting. You had big dork energy and the wrong kind of tool in your profile pic, one look at that violin and I had to know what was up   
  
”You got that right (Winking Face ) cool violin, you play or are you some sorta living symphony man?”   
  
I sort of panicked and dodged this question the first time   
  
I didn’t want to seem like I was bragging, or scare you off if you weren’t into that kind of thing   
  
I do play the violin! For school, of course, but, to be honest... I was always a bit of a music man, even before I was accepted to my program. A huge nerd, one might say. If my high school band director had spares of an instrument... As in, all those that were, let's say, not absurdly popular... Just picture the entire brass section... I can probably play it.   
  
That all and piano. One of my foster homes had a piano. I was fortunate enough to receive lessons.   
  
Did you have anyone who taught you cooking? What do you like to make?   
  
That’s a lot of instruments! Sweating it up in a uniform, huh?   
  
My aunt taught me to cook, originally, when my sister and I lived with her after our folks passed. Foster sucks ass, I’m glad you at least got to learn piano <3   
  
I'm lucky in that I had a good time in foster care. I moved frequently, but my situation was surprisingly stable. My foster parents were members of a particular religious order that ran my program.   
Glad you had a good time. You are lucky (Sparkling Heart )   
I would usually see them again even after I left their care, unless they moved away. Or died   
  
I didn’t know your parents had passed. It’s surprising that we have that in common. I don’t have any siblings, though. I think you’ve mentioned your sister before—are you close?   
  
We’re twins, actually, we’ve always been close and two handfuls. We share an apartment. She’s in school for mortuary science. Remember that weekend she had something going on? She brought home these mannequins. It was so fucked, but she was so damn psyched for it. She was doing their makeup for class. It was buckwild (Face With Tears Of Joy )(Face With Tears Of Joy )(Face With Tears Of Joy )   
That's incredible! I can see why you wouldn't want to bring a friend home while she had those out, but it's the kind of thing I find absolutely fascinating. Which, maybe is not what I should be saying to a cute boy I like? But I want to be honest with you.   
  
How did I ever miss that she was your twin? It feels ridiculous that we’ve been talking for this long and I hadn’t known that. And how did you end up a chef while she diverged into mortuary science? This isn’t a Hannibal situation, is it? ;-)   
  
jeezy creezy   
hell no   
different strokes for different folks is all I guess. We were both pretty independent starting in high school. I could never live without her, I’d be a totally different person, but I want to be my own elf, u know?   
  
she can have her weird morbid fixations and I can be over here doing normal cool stuff for popular kids   
...And were you popular in high school? Were you? I don’t mean to throw shade, but you have more of a “cool rebel” affect   
damn straight   
I tore it UP in home ec   
anyway cooking came naturally to me. Food’s good, you eat it and you feel good, and if you eat shitty food you feel bad   
okay that was a fuckin rambly ass way to say that my shit relatives are also shit cooks but I think you get me   
also, it never hurts to be useful   
but it’s fun, alright? If I didn’t actually like it I wouldn’t do it   
I’m fucking lucky to get to do something I actually like for a living instead of menial drudgery. What a nightmare that would be, right?   
Quite so. I think I really understand where you’re coming from; my job, while tolerable enough, is definitely not what I would like to be doing long term.   
my job’s a lot but I’m working my ass off at it. Someday I want to make it big   
almost had it once already. I’m gonna make it back there   
I think it's incredible that you were able to follow your passion and succeed in your chosen field. Your cooking really does impress me.   
What I've heard about it, I mean.   
I’m admitting a lot of things tonight… so I may as well tell you that I mostly subsist off frozen dinners. My apartment doesn’t even have a range.   
Oh gods. Oh no, babe, you’re getting a proper meal as soon as we meet, I canNOT sit by and let my man starve! (Grimacing Face )   
<3 I would like that very much. I’m looking forward to a time when we can confidently make plans together   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't run a tally on how many times Kravitz almost slipped up this conversation because I was cringing so hard on his behalf. Good luck with trying to rebuild trust via an elaborate ruse, skeleman.


	16. What You Want, What You Need/make this perfect again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad decides that overtime is the new normal. Kravitz decides that actually, can't he just pine after Taako in secret, instead of risking desolation with some silly confession?
> 
> Taako may not know what's up with these assholes, but he only needs one good push to switch gears from 'rolling with the punches' to 'double homicide'.

Brad bustled into the shop, carrying multiple newspapers and smiling broadly. He plunked the papers down on the counter. “Hello, Kravitz, quick meeting, let me just get Taako in here.”

He crossed to the kitchen door and leaned in. “Taako, could you join us for a moment?”

Taako exited the kitchen door, wary. This had better not be—but he could guess, couldn’t he? Truly, there was a pattern, Taako wasn’t an idiot.

“The article’s out, fellas! And it’s very flattering, I’m so pleased. Evidently, you really impressed Lucretia with your work on Thursday! That music festival is part of a series on Thursday nights the rest of the summer, and I’d love to have a presence at as many of them as we can. We’ll need to talk availability, for both of you, and ideally for Lup as well. Our beverage sales were very impressive.”

Taako barely avoided an exasperated huff. Last time had meant a scramble of prep and a double shift the day of, then catchup and an unholy battle with Kravitz on Friday. They weren’t staffed for this, with or without Lup! Even if they were, everything was harder now. No way could he count on Kravitz to be cooperative, and frankly he wouldn’t care, except that it made Kravitz an obstacle, not an asset. Just one more thing to worry about.

He hated this. He hated the sick feeling he got knowing that the correct answer to this as things currently stood was _no, are you kidding?_ “Brad, that’s—that’s short notice, I can ask her if she’s free—” he managed.

Kravitz folded his arms on the counter with a pinched expression. The extra heft to his paycheck was extremely helpful. But he caught the flash of resentment on Taako’s face, and, well. He understood.

He interrupted Taako’s petering ramble. “I’d like to say yes, but it was something of a scramble for us to dispense with our daily responsibilities on top of festival preparation. I know Taako especially was stretched thin. And I have no doubt that Lup has—competing commitments.” He couldn’t remember whether Taako or only T_sizzle had said she was in mortuary school. As a full-time student, her workload must be substantial.

Taako blinked at him. What was Kravitz's angle here? Did he just not wanna do more events? But.

That's what Taako had yelled, wasn't it?

Taako wasn't the best at asking for help. He knew that, it was his thing; needing help would make him more troublesome than he was worth. Until he reached a breaking point, most people wouldn't know he was struggling at all. He'd reached that point on Friday with Kravitz, screamed in his face to engage and offer help, and made it clear that he was scared to turn Brad down when he barely had a foot in the door. Taako had gone after what he needed in the full, frustrated expectation that he'd be ignored.

But here was Kravitz, acting like he'd…_heard_ Taako.

This was gonna break Taako's brain, what was Kravitz's _game_ here?

“We’ll have to keep this simple, Brad, and maybe look at getting more help, I think. I can work during those hours, but there’s a ton of prep and cleanup that we’ve gotta figure out, too,” Taako explained.

Brad nodded. Kravitz was relieved, even though he’d always known Brad to be a fair and reasonable boss—if a bit too inclined towards overworking. “I understand that asking overtime of you every Thursday is a lot. And Carey’s not able to do any more for the festivals unless we close the shop floor to free her up, which I’d really rather not do. So, I have been thinking of hiring some extra help. If sales continue to grow at this rate, we can afford another person.”

Kravit swallowed. He hated feeling like his responsibilities could be given away to someone else. The insecurity was maddening. But Taako’s needs were real and pressing, and he’d done such a piss-poor job of sympathizing. “I agree that hiring someone new is a good idea. I’d be happy to train them.”

Taako felt a little bolder, with Kravitz in agreement.

Which was ridiculous, because usually Kravitz wanted him to suffer?

“That sounds good, I’ll check with Lup and come up with some ideas,” he said. His mind swirled with a thought that had just begun to crystallize, unbidden and unwelcome and very solidly there: Kravitz? Using his rapport with Brad and influence and tenure to back Taako up?

Was kinda hot.

Godsdammit.

Oblivious to Taako’s internal strife, Kravitz asked, “What responsibilities would our new employee have? And when could we be confident that we can proceed with creating the position?” He tapped his fingers against the counter. It still stung that he’d been left out of the loop for Taako’s hiring. Maybe it wasn’t his place to pry into Brad’s decision making, but he couldn’t help wanting to know.

Hopefully nothing he said would erase the hint of softness from Taako’s features. He kept sneaking little glances out of the corners of his eyes, trying to read Taako’s thoughts from the tilt of his ears.

“First things first, we’ll need to update our books,” Brad replied. “I would like a better idea of exactly how much extra profit we’re generating from events, versus the expenses incurred from preparing more food. It’s the difference between hiring a part-timer or someone full time.”

“I can prepare the sales reports early,” Kravitz said, stifling a sigh. More work and less sleep for him, grand. But he could afford to be tired in class for a few days. Keeping Taako from being run ragged was worth the sacrifice.

Taako nodded, only half tuned in to the conversation. He was for sure missing something obvious here. He had clearly been wrong about Trautonium_Corvid being upset by Kravitz interrupting Saturday, and Kravitz hadn’t really done anything terrible then? Taako was still kinda worked up about Friday, but Kravitz had apologized and seemed to get the message? He was acting differently, and that was weird, but it was good different.

Was Taako winning the war?

Was there no war after all?

Taako was not gonna let Kravitz play him. He’d welcome the cooperation with his guard solidly _up._ But even that would be an improvement over hostility.

“That sounds good,” he agreed. “I think I can make it work until we get someone hired, and I’ll text Lup.” She, at least, would get some good money out of the deal. They both would.

That was gonna make that little knot in between Taako’s shoulders that just sort of always lived there ease a bit. Hell, imagine being able to pay his student loans and then save money in case Something happened. All the overtime would wear him out, but that would be temporary. He could see a light at the end of the tunnel, or at least start to think one existed.

Kravitz could read that Taako was relaxing from the line of his shoulders, and maybe he was watching Taako too anxiously, too intently—Brad raised an eyebrow at him—but he was glad to know. If Kravitz was going to unsnarl this mess, he needed to be on Taako’s good side. And he was sick of stupid fights. He was sick of being a source of unhappiness for Taako. Helping reduce his workload would be a good first step.

“Er, later, may I see your draft of the job listing?” Kravitz asked delicately. Brad’s work hours never overlapped with his. Brad couldn’t make it in on weekday mornings at all, except by taking an early lunch at his dayjob for brief meetings like these. Kravitz had no desire to seem like he was bucking authority—but he also wasn’t assured that Brad’s insight into the weekday needs of the shop was as informed as his own.

Brad nodded. “Certainly. I’ll send it to everyone’s email. Taako, I’ll need your feedback especially, for what kind of help you’re looking for in the kitchen.”

Taako took a breath. “I can do that. I’ll come up with something simple to make this week real quick, just to get those ingredients squared away, and then get you that list.” He pulled out his phone and texted Lup, **what’s thurs night look like now til fall for u? More bartending if youre free**, and looked back up at Brad. “I’ll brainstorm, it’s handled, no worries.”

“Wonderful. I have to go back to my office, but absolutely let me know if you have questions. It’ll be the same setup as before, which should save some planning. Thanks, gentlemen!” Brad beamed.

The door clattered behind him as he dashed out of the shop. Kravitz and Taako stood with frozen smiles as his car pulled away. The tinkling bell over the door fell silent.

Taako sighed and turned back toward the kitchen. “I’ll send you the list of stuff to order. I’ll need bourbon. Also? The cheapest white zin we’ve got, just set aside a bottle for me, for after,” he said over his shoulder.

A few days ago, Kravitz would’ve taken that request the worst way possible: inappropriate, selfish. He would’ve snapped at Taako for the joke. Now he knew how hard Taako worked. And how uncharitable he’d been, interpreting Taako’s words the worst way possible, and reading malice or laziness into his character so readily. His wounded pride has made his expectations so unfair.

He chuckled a few seconds off-beat. “Our cheapest white zin is too syrupy for me, so I hope you really are prepared to drink the whole thing on your own. I’ll be happy with whatever your bourbon concoction is.”

Taako paused. That was...was Kravitz trying to banter with him? Was he being presumptuous and inviting himself to an afterparty when the reality was an exhausted wallow? Taako had kinda expected something snide.

His phone buzzed. He checked it. “Yeah. Yeah it’s all for me,” he replied, a little awkwardly. “Lup’s confirmed. I’ll text Brad. We’ll need about a million little cups this time, I’ll do bourbon pudding and...think you can handle whipped cream _and_ putting a candied pecan on top?”

Taako chuckled a little, too. He should _not_ get used to this, it could all change in a heartbeat, but still...it was better than an immediate squabble? Huh.

This time, Kravitz knew not to take the friendly jab for a thorned barb. “I’m pleased my hard-won whipped cream prowess will come in handy. Pecans might be tricky, but I trust you’ll correct my errors.”

From how pleasantly this conversation was going, maybe he could assume that Thursday evening would be painless. Maybe he, Taako, and Lup could even have fun. He’d have to bring his best game to work; he could crash and sleep once the festival was over. No more late night violin practice for him. He’d been too cranky the next morning.

Taako regarded Kravitz warily. “Uh, yeah. I’ll have to teach you to handle tongs,” he replied. This was how the jumpscare last week was supposed to go, Taako being playfully antagonistic and Kravitz playing along and returning fire. It worked with everyone else Taako was close to, but it hadn’t worked with Kravitz.

Except now it was? What a weird development. Instead of shooing Taako back to his kitchen, Kravitz looked thrilled to chat, despite whatever undercurrent of stress had his (handsome, chiseled) jaw so tight.

The worry lines could probably be chalked up to the way Brad cheerfully bulldozed in to conscript them, _again_.

Taako forced a thin smile. He didn’t trust like that, but if Kravitz was suddenly resolved to not be an asshole, it could only help. And—not that he’d admit it on pain of death—Kravitz was hot and Taako liked the attention. “‘Kay. I’ll get started, same drinks menu?”

Kravitz nodded. With maybe a little too much enthusiasm in his head-bobbing, but he was just so nervous about having Taako’s smile turned on him. And maybe about spending another evening working side-by-side. “We should bring more flavored vodkas and cut the blood orange cider—these people have no taste—but otherwise, yes. For the bourbon, the Heaven Hill is cheaper, but it’s actually harder to replace stock in than the Jim Beam. How about I, mmm, run some numbers on stock versus price, you know, that whole kind of deal.”

He waved a hand in the air. The hand was not casual. The hand banged off the overhead glass-faced cigar cabinets that mostly served to collect dust. Kravitz winced and retreated back towards the register. “Ow. I’ll get back to you in a jiffy. I’m looking forward to another good Thursday. Lots of good sales, I mean.”

A sociable interaction at last. Nailed it. All that was left was to avoid staring after Taako as he swanned back into the kitchen, and cram as much studying as possible into precious few hours, reserving time for those reports in the evenings.

Surely the things Kravitz needed to say could wait for an opportune moment. He couldn’t risk trampling the tentative peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know that Stealth made a [ spotify playlist ](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4jYK0qE0qWQLgOyVybHA7s?si=hi-gBd06RAe7gjrJEPzKAg) for this fic? I have had the tab open for like 7 months but still haven't made an account because I suck. It's all the greatest hits of what the boys listened to circa highschool, and also where Stealth pulls our chapter titles from.


	17. I Was There Watching You/watching me, missing you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins and Barry serve up a full plate of emotional intimacy, smothered in Kravitz's secret recipe for piping hot LIE sauce.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone in the comments who's called for Kravitz to fess up already is completely, totally, utterly correct.
> 
> We're sorry that he's going to disappoint you all again (but not too sorry, because we love reading your comments!). Hand the man a shovel, he's digging his own grave.

Thursday night saw Taako attacking a bagful of fast food with Lup like a couple of feral teenagers, then loading up into Brad’s truck for the short drive to Olive Street. He pulled out his phone and sent a quick message to Trautonium_Corvid: **Miss you :* gotta work in a little bit, how are you?**

Lup poked him. “Taako’s got a boyfriend,” she teased. “You’ve seemed happier the last couple days, you make up with TC or is this a new man?”

Taako smacked her hand back and laughed. “Hey! Cut it out! It’s him. He just got nervous or something I guess, but it’s cool now. He didn’t even mention Kravitz being there at all, and he got all sweet and wanted to talk about our lives and stuff, it was cute.”

Lup raised an eyebrow. He fidgeted and avoided her gaze as Brad brought the truck to a halt, then sprang out of the car before they were completely stopped. He turned his back on the window, hunching protectively to check his cellphone without Lup being in his business.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
I miss you too! I’m about to embark on my daily battle with public transportation. How do you feel about working tonight after a full shift? Did you get any kind of break at all?   
  


“I can be back and forth if you need me,” Brad called over his shoulder as he threw on the emergency brake. He’d made a point of offering extra help all afternoon, even though he already had his hands full working with Carey to keep the store open.

“Yeah yeah, it’s cool, kemosabe, we’ve got this,” Taako said.

“We’ll call or beep you if we need you,” Lup agreed. She waited until the engine was off to get out of the car. Taako barely got his phone shoved back in his pocket before she slung an arm around his shoulders and dragged him over to help unload the trunk.

He schlepped a cooler into their section of the tent to kick beneath the table, then pulled out his phone as Lup headed back for the next.

I got a short break. My sister brought us food, and now I’m getting stuff ready. It’ll be a long one but it’s gonna be kickass :D   
  


“Hey dingus! Put down your phone and tell me which box has the mixers.” Lup called, shoving her way past with another cooler.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
I hope it goes well too.   
  
For your sake   
  
As in, it’s such a long day for everyone, but you especially, and overtime pay cannot, unfortunately, purchase rest.   
  


“They’re in the first one I loaded, behind the driver’s seat,” Taako answered with an eye roll and a smirk. “You’re not my boss!”

I know, I promise I’ll rest later. I really wanna do a good job and I have help. You’re always burning the candle at both ends, hot stuff. are you gonna get some rest? I don’t want you to get sick again <3   
  
<3 Thank you for your concern. I’ll be okay. I may give up on practice of any kind tonight and instead take my notes to bed. Studying while lying down is almost as good as resting.   
  


“I’m not your boss, but bossman has the box!” Lup called. “Thanks, Bradson.” She pulled back a canvas flap to admit Brad, carrying two full boxes under thick biceps like watermelons. Taako stepped out of the way and pretended to be arranging coolers.

“No, thank you for assisting us again, Lup,” he said, bending down to gently place the boxes of bottles on the back counter with nary a clink. “It’s a pleasure to have you on the team.”

That’s true, or at least it’ll have to be. One of these days though I’m gonna trap you in my bed for snuggles. No moving no working just rest   
  
That sounds like heaven—and something that you dearly need as well. Mutual pact to have that shared nap, when things are better? <3   
  


Taako headed back to the truck and grabbed a box of plastic spoons. He stacked it on top of a bigger box of plastic cups and carried both through the tent to the counter. “Got your cups, what’ll you give me for ‘em?” he teased Lup.

“How about, if you _don’t_ give me the cups, I will wreck your entire shit? Noogie plane coming in for a landing!” Lup made grabby hands for Taako’s updo. Brad, traitor that he was, simply stepped out of her way with a chuckle.

Taako chucked the cups at the counter and danced back, hands up. “I give! Take the cups!” he cried. “I need the spoons, though, gimme those.” He rescued the spoons and set them in place.

Lup arrayed the bottles on the back counter with much clattering and muttering, adding those that Brad continued to fetch from the van. The flimsy particle board counters were definitely overfull.

“I’m about to beat up the popsicle people over there for more space,” she announced. The orange tiefling at the adjacent booth shot her a dirty look and hunched protectively over his cooler of popsicles. Taako offered the tiefling a good natured smile—_she’s kidding_—because the last thing they needed that evening was to throw hands with fellow food service schmucks. “Ko, stop texting your _bee eff_ and tell Krav he went overboard with the drink selection.”

Taako made a face at Lup’s suggestion. Kravitz was being...weird, lately. Eager. Taako might go so far as to say Kravitz was acting _supportive_, if that wasn’t completely ridiculous. She was right, though—Taako would have to _speak_ to him, ugh.

“Will do.” It was just work. Just communication with a coworker, completely professional. Still, _ugh_. He set out a container for tokens, prepared this time, and checked his phone.

I’ll hold you to that lol I know first dates are usually supposed to be impressive or what have you but fuck it. We’ve been talking so long I just wanna fall into your life and take a damn nap together, no pretense <3   
  


A short moment after Taako sent his message, Kravitz rounded the corner down at the end of the booths with a dopey smile on his face and his eyes glued to his phone. He let the crowd batter him as he crawled along at a snail’s pace. Today the violin case was absent, but his messenger bag looked like it had been stuffed with bowling balls. His whole gait was off from the weight. Another semester of that and he’d herniate a disc.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
<3 Every part of that sounds perfect to me. I want to abandon pretenses altogether and just… be able to enjoy how lucky we were to find each other.   
  


“Ah, I see Kravitz made it,” Brad said, leaning over the table to peer out of the tent. “Excellent. I’ve got to get back to Carey and the store. Call if you need anything, and otherwise I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Taako nodded to Brad. “Thanks, we got it!”

Kravitz slipped his phone into his bag and picked up the pace, squeezing between two tables and into the food tent just in time to wave Brad goodbye. The popsicle tiefling scooted aside to let him barrel past. He stopped short, teetering on tiptoes next to where Lup crouched on the ground unpacking bottles. “Hello Taako, Lup. I hope I’m not late?”

Taako put his hands on his hips. “Kinda overkill in the drinks department here, my dude,” he said bluntly, raising an eyebrow. “Not a lot of space, y’know.” He shrugged.

Lup shook two bottles of vanilla vodka like maracas and stuck out her tongue. Kravitz gave her a sheepish smile. “I had hoped to avoid running as low as we did last time, and that the crowding would be more tolerable as we used up bottles…but you’re right. I’ll take a note and be less zealous next week.”

His bag would have to live on the ground for now. At least no one was likely to steal composition textbooks. And if they did, they had better take care to lift with their knees. The bag made an audible _fwumph_ when dropped. He shoved it up against a leg of the folding table that faced the street. “Walk me through tonight’s treat? Carey’s rapturous praise has me excited for the experience.”

Taako blinked and took Kravitz’s explanation in, feeling slightly off-kilter. He’d expected defensiveness or a snide comment here, what was this? Kravitz was _excited?_ “Yeah. Alright, so, we’ve got bourbon pudding. It’s in cups already, just gotta hit it with whipped cream, then put one of these candied pecans on top. Tokens are the same, container for them’s right there, here’s a set of tongs.”

He gave the utensil the traditional practice clicks before handing it to Kravitz. “If you try pinching me with these? They’ll never find your body,” he warned, with just enough of a smile to prevent the threat being taken seriously.

Kravitz’s returning smile crinkled into a squint as the candied pecans refused to stay in the tongs when bidden. They kept slipping out of the scalloped edges. “I think you’re safe from any pinches on my part,” he grumbled. He stabbed at the bowl and finally secured a clump, realized the whipped cream was next to that hand, swapped the tongs to seize the canister, and accidentally dumped all the pecans back into the bowl.

Taako laughed in spite of himself. Kravitz was...bumbling, probably that was the best way to sum it up. It was almost hard to remember that he was entry number 1 on the ‘Dead to Taako’ list as recently as Saturday.

“Gods, okay no, here we go,” Taako began. He stepped behind Kravitz, close, boxing him in against the table reaching around him. “This one’s just squeezing. Hold it like this, in your off hand,” he instructed, angling the tongs to make the motion easier. “The whipped cream’s got a trickier movement so we’ll have that in your dominant hand. Give it a shake.”

He guided Kravitz’s movement with his own hands. “And one—”_squirt_“—two.” The tongs deposited the nut atop the whipped cream. “Beautiful.” 

He stepped back from Kravitz quickly as a wave of realization hit him. That was _close._ That was _nice._ That felt _good—no???_ He cleared his throat and willed himself not to blush, this was just an expert coaching a coworker. That was _all,_ no, seriously!

“I, I think I’ve got it now. Thanks.” Kravitz licked his dry lips and tried to ignore the heat radiating from Taako’s skin. He was absurdly touch-starved, but he needed to pull it together, dammit. He could manage; he’d been managing.

This was just another thing he was denied because of his mistakes. He would not push Taako for further intimacy. It wouldn’t be fair of him to take advantage under a pretense, no matter how badly he wanted the simple comfort of touch. He would earn Taako’s affection the hard way, _then_ he’d come clean.

This engagement needed to be kept strictly professional. Taako was only showing him how to serve desserts; any feelings of intimacy were in his own head. He couldn’t imagine guiding someone like that, and Taako had made it seem so easy, with his hands firmly on Kravitz’s.

Taako’s hands were warm, with deft, callused fingers and soft palms... Kravitz needed to jump off that train of thought before it reached a destination inappropriate for work. He clicked the tongs again and had another go at the bourbon pudding, this time squirting out a dollop of cream and squashing it with a chunk of pecan.

Maneuvering the tongs in his left hand really was tricky. More than ever, he appreciated Taako’s skillset. His competence in moments like these was…

_Deeply impressive._ Just impressive. Lup was smirking with an eyebrow cocked, leaning on the counter like she’d been watching the whole time. Kravitz feigned ignorance of her gaze and presented his concoction to Taako. “Well, that’s something. Not up to your standards, I’m afraid.”

“Good. Awesome, yeah,” Taako managed. He needed to calm right the hell down, he was not gonna stand here at work thirsting after a guy who had ruined his date—well, no, Trautonium_Corvid actually didn’t seem to be pressed about Kravitz.

But Kravitz was unrepentantly obnoxious and insulting—well, no, really very repentantly, he had apologized several times. Taako turned away and busied himself unwrapping little plastic spoons, trying to keep his ears under control so Lup couldn’t read his private thoughts like the busybody she was.

Taako huffed a breath that ruffled the wisps of hair escaping his messy bun. Kravitz bent down to check the coolers beneath the table, clearly looking for a way to make himself useful. He hadn’t shown up Monday at all, sick, but even apologized for that too, and worked super hard the next day.

Kravitz backed Taako up when Brad had gotten all excited about the events. Kravitz praised Taako’s hard work. He was pleasant and excited and teachable. He had talent, just not this particular skill.

And damn was it nice to wrap around him and get _cozy._

No. Nope nope nope. _Taako had a boyfriend._ He turned to Lup. “You got everything all set, Lulu? They’re gonna start soon,” he said, trying for a clean change of task and topic and coming face to face with that knowing smirk. For fuck’s sake.

She flashed two thumbs up. “We’re good to go, bro. Except that I think we literally don’t have enough cups to serve all this booze. Buuuuuuut I may have that taken care of.”

Kravitz frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

As though on cue, a large box of plastic cups shoved through the tent flap, followed by Barry. “Hey guys. This enough cups, babe?”

“Thanks, Bear. You’re the absolute best.” Lup answered, the nickname affectionate and G-rated, the look she gave him skewing far less innocent. She swept to his side to peck him on the cheek and take the box from his hands.

Taako laughed. Barry didn’t work here, and Lup barely did; it was wild that the guy kept showing up and just carrying boxes around. As moves went, this one was entertaining as hell. “Hey, Barry, looks like you’re a lifesaver, dude,” he teased.

Kravitz barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes as Barry blushed faintly and rubbed the back of his neck. “Aw, well, you guys are welcome.” He turned to Lup with an impossibly soft, sweet smile. Hadn’t they only been dating for a couple weeks? “I know how hard you’ve been working, babe.”

She shoved the box onto the counter with the bottles and pressed a giddy kiss to his lips. “You’re the best, teddy bear.” She pulled back with an immensely satisfied look on her face, leaving Barry moonstruck, his mouth tinged faintly red from her lipstick. “So, Bear, this is Kravitz. He works with Taako at Far Corners. Kravitz, this is my boyfriend. We met through my school.”

Ah, so Barry was Lup’s study date, and the reason Kravitz wasn’t able to accompany T_sizzle home two Saturdays ago. “Charmed. It’s lovely to meet you,” Kravitz said, extending a hand.

Barry’s shake was uncertain and vaguely clammy. Was he going to be underfoot for the rest of the evening? With Kravitz’s new commitment to being polite and understanding of Taako, was there a _polite_ way to chase his sister’s boyfriend off before he got underfoot? There were mere minutes left until the organizers started selling tokens.

“Hope you guys don’t mind if I hang out for a bit? I, uh, I promise I won’t be in the way.” Barry said.

Taako cocked his head. Hmmm, actually, Barry getting in the way as a little buffer between Taako and Kravitz might work out fantastically. “You volunteering? ‘Cause I’ll make you fetch and carry, if you’re here, you hustle.”

Barry laughed and gave a mock salute. “You got yourself a gofer.”

Taako grinned broadly. _”Excellent._ Hope you’re ready to sweat, thug.” Kinda keeping it all in the family, apparently, in this tent. They were taking over the business, watch out, Kravitz! “‘Kay, just keep us stocked up with stuff, and I’m cool with it. Lup? Don’t be too gross,” he teased, pointing two fingers between his eyes and her. She just laughed.

Kravitz grudgingly nodded to himself. If Taako thought Barry would be helpful, and that Lup wouldn’t be too distracted, then so be it. Any canoodling on the clock should get them both canned, but Kravitz was willing to extend a bit of trust. “Can I also put you on token duty? It’s probably more sanitary if Taako and I minimize handling things outside of food.”

“Oh, yeah, say no more,” Barry said. “You never know what people are doing, or uh, not doing with their hands. Like, _washing,_ them. Did you know that something like two hundred and sixty thousand people in the US get food poisoning from _E. coli_ every year?”

“I didn’t know that.” Kravitz blinked. “Wait, that seems high. Isn’t that—bacteria?—normally found in people’s, well, excrement? How deadly is it?”

Lup broke off unwrapping the cups to whistle.”Pretty darn deadly! Some pathogenic varieties produce toxins. Ever heard of shiga causing bloody diarrhea?”

Kravitz stooped down. “Hang on, I think I have some hand sanitizer in my bag. How many people die, again?”

“That number is uh, something like one hundred,” Barry answered. “But, in the developing world, if you’re talking about kids? More than three hundred thousand deaths annually, I think. This isn’t really my field; we mostly focus on homicides at the body farm.”

Taako rolled his eyes dramatically. “Oh my _gods,_ guys? Lup? Hey Lulu, sister mine? Not safe for normies!”

Lup snickered. “It’s just science!” she protested.

“That goes for you too, Barold, for fucks’s sake,” Taako continued. “Nobody around here is allowed to shit themselves to death, that’s _that,_ I won’t allow it. Congrats on your promotion, Barry, you’re the token man, let’s do this.”

Barry chuckled as he moved into position next to Kravitz. “I’ll wash up good after, don’t worry babe, I won’t give you any nasty bugs,” he teased Lup.

Lup stuck her tongue out and waggled her eyebrows. “Good to hear, but if you get any germs I’m deffo going down with you. That’s romance.” Taako shook his head and snorted.

Kravitz passed the hand sanitizer around before lobbing it back into his bag. He waved the cold sting of alcohol off his hands and squared up against the crowd. There didn’t seem to be as many people as last time, but the event had barely started. The only people onstage were black-clad crew members, busily checking wires and arranging microphones.

“I’ve never done anything like this before,” Barry said cheerfully. “I get that this is probably real tiring to do for a living, but it seems like a fun atmosphere for a night.”

Kravitz huffed a sigh and shook the candied pecan container to break up clumps. “I’m glad you’re here to have fun, because we weren’t prepared to pay you.”

Barry shrugged graciously. “That’s fine, I wasn’t gonna walk up to you guys and demand money for something I wasn’t hired for.”

“You work at a body farm, right?” Kravitz asked. In middle school, he’d watched a National Geographic documentary with his temple’s scripture class. “That’s something that’s always fascinated me, but I’m not sure my stomach’s strong enough for it. What’s it like?”

“It’s really interesting. Like, there’s loads of factors that go into decomposition, so we can get a ton of information about how and when somebody died, and who they were— real useful, when you’ve got a mystery corpse—and what happens to bodies under different conditions. I do see a lot of icky stuff, though. Feel free to tell me to shut up if it’s too much.”

Ice crunched loudly as Lup scooped the cocktail shakers through the cooler. “You’re good babe, your job is the raddest shit. Did you hear that Magnus squealed when I told him you guys get to train dogs sometimes?”

“Dogs? Oh, for locating bodies,” Kravitz said. “Is that what you do?”

Barry grinned sheepishly. “No, my job’s not that exciting.”

Lup elbowed him. “Are you kidding? You have the sexiest job of anyone there. Stop playing modest and tell him what’s what, babe.”

“Well, uh, these past couple years I’ve been mostly working on ground-penetrating radar. It’s used to detect masses underground—could be corpses, could be rubble, or just subsurface cracks. The military uses them to detect unexploded ordnance, too, and they can also map things like sewers. But um, there’s a real need for radargrams and tomography that are more, well, intuitive for the layperson, and discriminate with greater detail. So basically, I work on a team that’s developing that technology for law enforcement. So they can use GPR in the field to identify likely human remains without having to call in a specialist, or dig up eight feet of dirt and concrete.”

He blushed as Lup pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “It’s fucking awesome!” she crowed. “If I ever get together a few thousand bucks in school money—okay, _tens_ of thousands—that’s something I could get into.”

Barry smiled and coughed. “Someday, for sure. I think you’d be amazing.”

“Aw, babe!” Lup blushed and pecked him on the lips again.

Taako rolled his eyes. Lup was horny for the nerd. They were so happy and so _weird._ “Well, I take it back, I guess, if I kill you for pinching me with the tongs apparently Barold here will find your body. Good news, you get to live, ‘cause Taako ain’t going down for murder,” he joked to Kravitz.

Lup snorted. “Yeah, you’re not allowed to go to jail, bro-bro, says me.”

Barry chuckled. “Uh, yeah, agreed, I don’t like the idea of sending my brand new girlfriend’s brother to prison? That’s no way to start a relationship.”

Kravitz racked his brain for a line. Taako had given him an opening, he couldn’t pass that up! He desperately wanted to be included in the banter. But his wit was as pennies in the bottom of a tin can, and his tongue a thick slug. He’d grown unused to camaraderie. The terror that anything he said might be mean-spirited wouldn’t leave him.

The conversation swept on without him. “Babe, you are the light of my life, but if you tried to send my baby bro to prison I would kick your ass,” Lup said.

Barry grinned back. “I thought you were the younger twin? Also, I already said I wouldn’t!”

Their mutual affection was as obvious as the noonday sun, even in a place as mundane and hectic as a food tent at a music festival. Kravitz felt like his eyes would fail if he stared at them for too long. Lup and Barry were in a spotlight together, illuminated by their happiness, while he and Taako lurked on the periphery with their faces upturned. Was there any hope left that they could build something like that between them? What was the trick, the formula, the roadmap for a bond like Lup and Barry’s, with love in every measure?

Kravitz cleared his clogged throat with a cough. “If you don’t mind my asking, how did you two meet?”

Barry turned to Kravitz. When it came to talking about Lup, it seemed Barry’s usual nervousness receded, leaving an eager reverence. “We met at her school. I came in to guest lecture in one of her classes, and she just sat there, absolutely beautiful, like a complete work of art and full of life, you know? And when I called for questions, she asked about the relative impact of heat versus humidity on decomposition, and when I answered she focused all her attention on me. So I almost died,” Barry joked. Lup laughed and poked him in the belly. “But I pulled through, and she asked a follow up. She kept going after understanding the material, it was amazing, like—”

“Yeah, his accent’s _really_ cute,” Lup interrupted by way of explanation. Barry blushed.

“Anyway, I gave out my contact info—sometimes folks want more info on the body farm—and she emailed me with even more questions. One thing led to another and we started having study dates, and then a couple of weeks ago...well, we, uh—”

“We found we had chemistry and checked out each other’s biology, we’re all grown here, babe, we know what’s up,” Lup teased. “And now he’s my teddy bear, I’m keeping him.” She slung an arm around Barry and gave him a squeeze.

Taako chuckled. “Gotta say, when Lup told me she had a study buddy coming over? I thought she meant a classmate, but hey, way to be, sis, you seem happy.”

“Awww, thanks bro,” Lup said, blowing him a kiss by raising the arm slung around Barry.

They were unbelievably lucky to have found each other. Kravitz couldn’t think of a single person from his classes with whom he’d formed any kind of relationship, let alone romance. Even after their explanation, he couldn’t quite understand the inception of their mutual interest. There was no outward sign that they would be such a good match.

Unlike Lup, Barry looked utterly out of place at this festival. Lup was dressed to kill as well as work. She’d taken an official Olive Street Music Fest ‘19 t-shirt and cut the sleeves off to make a baggy tanktop, pairing it with high tops and ripped shorts, and tied her hair back with a matching scarf. Barry was in bluejeans and a button-up flannel and thick glasses. He looked like someone’s lost dad.

She was poised where he was awkward, confident when he was anxious. Maybe Kravitz was being overly romantic, but he fancied them the perfect complement. And he was inappropriately jealous.

“You’re both very fortunate. I’m happy for you,” he said, willing sincerity into the sentiment. He licked his lips while he worked out what to say next, and was saved when a guitar riff peeled from the stage. “Ah, the first sound check already?”

“Whoop, it’s go-time!” Lup called, pointing down the line of tables. The line to the token booth had begun to move. She smacked a kiss on Barry’s cheek and gave him a playful shove. “I’ve gotta get mixing, babe. Help the boys out?”

Taako clicked the tongs with a flourish. “Alright, folks, customers a-coming.” He smiled and elbowed Barry affectionately, forcing air out of him with a little _oof._

This was Taako’s first time hearing Barry’s side of the story of how he and Lup met, but it checked out. It was sweet. Would Trautonium_Corvid look at him like Barry looked at Lup? And vice versa? Did they have a chance?

When Barry and Lup looked at each other, they practically inflated with joy, like they were gonna float off into the sky from sheer love. You couldn’t let them within arm’s length without them touching, even if it was just holding hands or a G-rated smooch on the cheek.

Taako might be setting his sights too high—let’s be real, he’d settle for someone decent keeping him around as a problematic fave at this point, emphasis on _keeping_—but he wanted _that._

He’d try, anyway. Probably if he acted like that toward Trautonium_Corvid he’d be, like, owed it? Reciprocity? But right now it was work time. He checked on Kravitz out of the corner of his eye. He’d never seen anyone look at a pair of tongs with such distrust. _You’re in the driver’s seat, my dude._

Kravitz, unable to work out what the side-eye Taako sent his way meant, stepped around Barry to shelter behind his bulk. He couldn’t handle exchanging silent looks with the (unknowing) object of his affections.

He and Barry ended up shuffled a little ways up the table before Barry maneuvered Kravitz back between himself and Taako. The stations made sense: Barry with the bowl for tokens, Kravitz with his hated tongs and the tupperware of candied pecans. He considered whether Taako would notice him stealing a nibble.

“Boy, the pecans look great,” Barry said. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Let me know when T’s not looking.”

Kravitz barked a startled laugh. “Ah—sure,” he whispered back, before realizing that whispering three feet from someone was a great way to get their attention. Not that he was even sure Taako would care about pilfered pecans. He cleared his throat. “Anyway, um. Have you and Lup got plans for the weekend? I mean—I apologize if I’m prying—some mutual social engagement, outside the context of work?”

“Nothing big,” Barry answered with a shrug. “I’m off, but she’s got a bartending shift for sure one of the nights, I’d have to ask her. We’ll probably just work around that in whatever time we have and do regular stuff together.” He smiled softly at the thought. “You doing anything fun?”

“Ah—no,” Kravitz said. He clacked the tongs distractedly and realized he’d left the whipped cream over by the pudding cups. “I mean, I could study. Practice. That’s what I usually do.”

“Gotcha,” Barry nodded. “That’s a priority, for sure. I don’t miss the stress, with my job I kinda get the thrill of learning without, y’know, finals.” He chuckled. “Gotta make some time, though, to relax and hang out with friends, partners, whoever. All work, no play, right?”

“Right,” Kravitz said reflexively, not really agreeing at all. He was already a super senior, staring down a winter graduation without any prospects. He needed to buckle down on his academics more than ever.

At the same time—it was all a sucking drain on his energy. On occasion, in the periphery of his mind, he could imagine what it would feel like to raise a bow or bring his hands down on piano keys and feel no joy. Just stress and defeat. He couldn’t bear to let that become reality. “I do love my work. I’m very lucky to be in my program.”

Barry glanced over at Taako, and seeing him distracted by pudding cups, held out a hand toward Kravitz, low. “Just drop one for me, bud, just, oops, right here,” he said, opening and closing his hand in a grabbing motion. “That’s lucky for you, you graduate soon?”

Kravitz fumbled with the tongs and delivered a payload of sugary, crunchy goodness into Barry’s grasping hand. “This December, ideally. I mean, I have no reason to suspect I won’t, but things happen.”

Barry popped the nut into his mouth and crunched. “Yeah, y’know, life is short, you gotta go for it. Like, don’t do anything stupid, but don’t let anything stop you either.”

“Okay, that sounded like something Lup would say,” Kravitz said with a laugh. “Not that I know her well, or nearly so well as you do. You two seem—very close, for being new to your relationship.”

Barry laughed too. “Yeah, she’s rubbing off on me,” he joked. “But I mean, we’ve been getting closer and closer for a couple of years, even before we were official, so it’s bound to happen. By the way, what’re you studying? What’s your big thing you’ve gotta go for?”

Kravitz’s eyes went wide. “Ah, well, of course, I’m studying…” He almost slipped into a fake accent. His dissembling was reaching a new, awkward low.

He could _not_ say music composition. T_sizzle was his most frequent confidant for his studies. Fuck, Taako had seen him play! Any more pieces would reveal the puzzle. No, he couldn’t risk Taako figuring him out here and now, before he’d made any real amends. He might as well spray the can of whipped cream in Taako’s face, vault the table, and run for the hills, for how well that would go over.

“...Religious arts,” he finally said, dimly aware that he’d spent the last eight seconds looking like he was about to choke.

His program was affiliated with the Raven Queen’s order; that was how he’d gotten his scholarship, as a ward of their foster program. In fact, he was fairly sure his academic advisor was former clergy.

He had to take religion and philosophy courses for his major, including _Uplifting the Cycle Through Music_ this very semester. Mercifully, a lot of the lessons were a rehash of what he’d studied in various scripture classes once or twice a week his entire youth, starting as soon as he convinced the adults to move him up from the construction paper and glue chaos of Sunday school. He’d been puffed with pride to graduate early, waddling his way into the big kid class with a five year old’s eager determination. He stuck out like a sore thumb, but he was always far more invested in the concentrated study of the Raven Queen’s tenets than making friends. And Sunday school was for _babies_. 

Yes, ‘Religious Arts’ was very nearly the truth. He could answer any further questions Barry threw at him. Surely this was a good anchor for a web of lies?

“Ah, cool,” Barry answered. “I don’t really know a whole lot about that, is there, like, a calling or something?” He looked at Kravitz a little strangely, as though he was trying to size up what was making Kravitz act so oddly. The frequent pauses in conversation were highly conspicuous.

“I would definitely say it’s a calling.”

“What made you wanna study it, then? And which god are we talking about?”

Kravitz did not want to elaborate. His relationship with the Raven Queen was founded on years of loving care from her congregation. When his parents were lowered into the earth, he was too young to understand death. The homes of Her followers became his homes, their temple his sanctuary, and their teachings assuaged his grief. His relationship with death was deeply personal. Not something to share with a near-stranger at work while his crush stood not three feet away.

The chords of the first performance rose from the stage. Kravitz leaned over the table to take a look. The frontman was vaguely familiar; maybe a face from one of his classes. No one that meant anything to him.

Getting to know people was impossible. They tended to get stuck on the orphan thing. And their pity was deeply uncomfortable. Kravitz didn’t want that, and he didn’t want to make Barry feel awkward with the revelation. “Oh, you know,” he said. “The usual, with the typical reasons.”

He decided to grab the conversational wheel and steer a hard right—straight into a wall. The tilt of Taako’s ears distracted him and a chunk of emotional baggage careened through his filter. “How did you know she was the one?”

It was Barry’s turn to pause for an awkward moment. “You know, it was pretty early? When we were just friends, we were gonna go over some stuff for one of her classes after I got off work. And that day—man, work was a shitshow, everything went wrong and tended toward grisly. It was one of those days that just gets under your skin and you feel like sort of throwing your security badge at someone’s head on the way out and never coming back. I don’t know, maybe that’s just me,” he said with a little chuckle. 

“Anyhow, when I got to the library where we were meeting, I went to grab a snack from the vending machine in the lobby and it got stuck and that was just _it._ I found a chair and sat down and just like, didn’t go in there so I wouldn’t absolutely lose it. But I guess I took too long. She came and found me, and I got—oof, I got kinda sharp, you know, and kinda broke down a little. She cancelled our study session on the spot, and I was like ‘this is it, huh?’”

Kravitz shot Barry a sympathetic glance. Barry shrugged sheepishly and raked a hand back through his thinning hair, like the force of his emotions was depressing the lever of his anxiety. “She walked away, and I thought she was going home, but she went over to the vending machine, bullied my snack out of it and one for her too, dragged another chair over and sat with me. Once I realized she wasn’t put off by my ugly days? Oh, buddy, it was over for Barry, she stole my heart and she still won’t give it back.”

A wistful smile crept onto Kravitz’s face. “That’s incredibly sweet,” he said, and it felt like a confession.

Barry just spilled a personal story with enough emotion to be from a Fantasy Lifetime movie, and Kravitz felt like _he_ was the one being overly vulnerable by showing a fraction of how moved he was. Not for the first time, he entertained the notion that he might have issues. “It’s—it’s a rare privilege, to find someone who loves you despite your ugliness. I’m happy that you’ve been so fortunate.”

He was happy, he realized. A little jealous, yes, that he would never have what Barry and Lup did. Taako had seen him ugly and hated him for it, and justifiably so. But. He couldn’t begrudge Barry this. The man was so earnestly sincere. Kravitz had rather thought he was putting his foot down his throat, asking Barry a question that presumed Lup was ‘the one’ when he knew their relationship had only been formal for a couple weeks. The way he phrased that said too much about where his thoughts lay. But Barry had given an honest answer without hesitation.

No wonder Lup returned his love.

“I think you’re…” Kravitz searched for the words, “Valid.” _Wow,_ was that really the best he could do? “That is to say, I completely agree that you and Lup have something wonderful together. Finding someone you can be that crazy about… well, that’s the dream, isn’t it?” He gestured with the tongs as if to snatch his point from the air before it eluded him.

He fixed his eyes over Barry’s shoulder, on Taako, and his expression softened. “I think love is ultimately what every artist is trying to capture. Every playwright and poet, every composer. We define ourselves by our love— What else is a calling, if not a love for something rooted deep in our bones? And, to have found that with someone? That’s the most incredible thing. Sincerely, I congratulate you.”

“Aw, thanks, I’m real lucky to love her. That’s really beautiful, you ever think of adding a poetry minor?” Barry teased lightly. He shifted the token bowl slightly as the band transitioned into their second song. Festival goers would be streaming their way any second now. “How about you, you seeing anyone? If that’s okay to ask, if not I’ll shut up.”

Kravitz nearly bit his tongue. He shot a panicked look at Taako, to see whether he was listening. “... I would like to be,” he allowed, so quietly that his voice was almost lost beneath the beat of drums from the stage. “But I might not have much to offer. At least, at this point in my life. I’m afraid that I wouldn’t make him—I mean, _someone_—happy, you know? I’m afraid I’m not ready, and that I’ll spoil things if I move too soon.”

Barry turned to Kravitz, giving him an appraising look. “I know I’m basically a stranger to you, but for what it’s worth? That you’re concerned about that at all goes a long way. And anyway, you can’t really _make_ someone be happy, not with material stuff or anything, you know. The way I see it, it’s more important to care for them and be there whether they’re happy or unhappy, as long as you both want.”

Kravitz met Barry’s eyes and smiled, soft and genuine. “It helps to hear that. I think you’re completely right. I needed that perspective, thank you.”

Whether or not Taako wanted him back, he could take pride in trying to make Taako’s life easier. That was what he was supposed to be doing anyway, as his assistant manager. He’d lost sight of that.

He was thinking about how much he enjoyed Barry’s company when he finally noticed the pudding cups Taako had been surreptitiously sliding down the table to him, like a sneaky, one-sided game of shuffleboard.

“Oh,” Kravitz said, head snapping up to see a line of customers. Taako broke down in honking laughter. Barry collected tokens blithely, ignoring the dirty looks from waiting customers.

While Kravitz quickly deposited generous heaps of pecans and dollops of whipped cream, fumbling the whole way, Lup leaned against the counter behind him and poked her foot into the back of Taako’s knee. “Man, it’s a _music festival,_ when are folks gonna start ordering drinks?”

“Pssshhh, I don’t know, when’s our bartender gonna quit screwing around and make—hey, stoppit,” Taako cried with amusement. “You just gonna torture me til they make you work?”

Lup waved a hand breezily. “I have to keep myself entertained _somehow._ And my boy’s busy in whipped cream hell.” Kravitz had given the can over to Barry so he could use both hands on the tongs, in an attempt to deliver a more modest portion of pecans per pudding. “Besides, you have time too, seeing as you made the pudding like, yesterday. Because you’re woooorking all the time now. So, while I have you trapped, this is _twin time._ How’s it hanging?”

“It’s good. It’s a lot but it’s good, overall,” Taako answered. He poked the tip of his tongue through the gap in front teeth, thoughtful. “Thanks for helping pick up the slack.”

More work for Taako had meant that Lup had not only been picking up these Thursday night shifts, she was also picking up his slack around the apartment. She’d grabbed his laundry basket along with hers earlier that week, taking a textbook up to Merle’s place so she could study while bumming his washing machine. She efficiently wrangled the whole kit and caboodle the day before Taako would’ve run out of clean underwear.

“Aw, I got a whole entire adjective from you. I’m glad things are ‘good’. And you’re very welcome.” Lup paused for a customer to order another pudding cup and moved aside while Barry collected his tokens, then slid in next to Taako at the front table. Lowering her voice, she continued, “Buuuuuut… Eavesdropping on my boy and Krav has me thinking more about our chat on Sunday. You remember? Wink wink, nudge nudge?”

Taako looked at her with just a hint of suspicion. “Yeah...you mean about _my_ boy? Cause we made up, we’re okay now, I’m really happy.”

Lup snorted so hard her bangs flew up. _“Wow,_ that’s it? You’re gonna take a shitty ‘I’m sorry’ lying dow—”

The tongs slipped from Kravitz’s grip and hit the table with a tremendous clatter. “You okay?” Barry and Lup asked at once.

“I’m fine, it’s fine,” he mumbled, quickly wiping the tongs clean and turning back to his pudding cups.

Lup leaned closer to Taako. “Okay, I hate to ride your ass about this, but are you _really_ happy? Like, _really?_ After all the bullshit he put you through? Because I’m just sayin’, did he get you _flowers?_ Did he send a _card?_ Or did he just go ‘oh I’m sorry, now please extend your obligatory forgiveness’?”

“No, I mean, like—” Taako sputtered. “He didn’t grovel or anything, but I didn’t really ask him to? It was just a misunderstanding, I came on kinda strong too.” He paused a second. “I can’t make him jump through hoops like that, it’s not fair and anyway—” this wasn’t the time or place for this conversation, but Lup would keep going until she was satisfied, so off with the bandaid “—what if he decides I’m not worth the aggravation?”

Lup pinched his arm. “You are worth every ounce of aggravation, babe. He’d be an idiot to let you go. Do you know he thinks you came on too strong, or are you guessing?”

Taako pushed at her hand lightly. “Hey!” he protested. “I mean, I’m guessing, but I apologized too? It’s not worth a fight, I’m good, I just wanna keep going and try again for a date, maybe, it doesn’t have to be a whole thing.”

Lup let him push her hand away, then darted in to give his shoulder a quick squeeze. “I get you. If you don’t think it’s worth a fight, then okay. But like, I’m sick of seeing you hurt over this prick. You guys have been talking for _months_ and you don’t even know his face? He’s always so damn cagey with you. It’s not fair. Just promise me you won’t tear yourself up over a guy. He could be an asshole for all you know, because he doesn’t let you know him.”

Taako swallowed roughly, annoyed with the way his throat was hurting for no good reason. She cared about him, he got it. He’d say the same if their roles were reversed. “I won’t let him dick me around, I promise. I just, you know, I lo—I really like him, a lot.” He coughed. Phew, that was close.

Maybe too close. Lup's eyebrows rocketed up into her hairline. She pressed her lips together and made an extremely concerned noise, like Taako was a cat she'd just caught digging in clean laundry. "If. He won't. Do that date with you? Then you need to _dump his ass_ so hard he bounces."

Taako nodded shallowly in agreement, still reluctant. “Yeah, I shouldn’t just—I won’t let him string me along, really. But like, if you only knew, like he asks about my day? He asks about my work? He’s always saying sweet stuff. Like, he’s kinda an over-the-top fancy man, but one time he said he wanted us to be each other’s refuge from the miseries of life, like who _says_ that off the cuff? I can’t not fuck him, I mean come on.”

He fidgeted while Lup snuck a glance over her shoulder. Kravitz and Barry were both plenty occupied, serving up pudding cups before a line had a chance to pile up. Kravitz’s form was stiff as hell, with his elbows held out at right angles—once Lup got off his back, he could clearly use a refresher on those tongs from ol’ Taako.

Lup whipped her head back around. Her gaze was soft at first, but she quickly scrunched up her eyes, all 'look at me, this is my serious business face’.

Her whisper came out sharp, like she was spitting the words. "Babe, I'm saying this with love, but, he's _already_ stringing you along. Don't fuck him just because— You deserve _so much better_. If he stands you up again I will break him over my knee."

Taako sighed. “I know you’re right. I’ll talk with him, I—thanks for having my back. Love you.” He hip-bumped her playfully. “Also, hey, quick question, were you planning on doing any work here?”

She bumped his hip back. "Excuse you! Just the second somebody orders some boozecohol. Honestly, you could probably have just set up like, some kind of firehose pudding-delivery system, and it would've done everybody's jobs for them. Also, since you premade all the cups and borrowed my boy and have like _nothing_ going on, are you coming home after this? Or are you taking Krav back up to the roof for another midnight serenade? Merle said y'all were cute."

Taako very nearly squawked in horror. Oh, that’ll be a big _hell no,_ bring Kravitz back up to the roof? He didn’t deserve—they weren’t friends! Taako was not about to have Kravitz take advantage of his generosity, _absolutely_ not.

Also— “Merle said _what?_ No, no, no, _I_ am cute, always, natch, but there is no collective _we,_ at all, ever. I’m not taking him back up there, he doesn’t get to just take my goodwill and then spin around and torment me all day, fuck no!” he shrilled.

Practically panting with rage, Taako tracked Lup’s eyes over to Kravitz, whom she was shooting an extremely pointed look.

For his part, Kravitz tried very hard to keep a neutral expression. This was hell. A hell of his making. Every fragmented bit of conversation he’d strained his ears for sounded more damning than the last. His spiderweb of lies was going to strangle him.

All the same, he hadn't been able to overhear much context for the twins' conversation— Until just now, when Taako raised his voice.

Lup's expression said she clearly knew that. She waggled her ears at Barry. He whistled nonchalantly, which was the single most suspicious action possible.

Kravitz hunched over the pecans and decided to pretend he needed all of his brain cells to operate the tongs. Though his and Barry’s attempt to appear preoccupied would probably be more convincing if they hadn't been dead silent for the past several minutes, eavesdropping intently.

Lup grinned and elbowed Taako. "Sooooo that was half an octave towards sheer panic, babe," she stage-whispered. "Are you suuuuuuuuure that's the whole story?"

She opened her mouth to say something else, but Kravitz shoved a topping-loaded pudding cup at their latest customer and then raised his hand like a guilty schoolchild.

"Yeeeees? Kravitz?" Lup laughed. "Do you have something to share with the class?"

"I'm," he started, visibly swallowing. "I'm sorry for being... an ass." Barry barked a laugh. "Last Friday, I mean. Not to say that I'm never an ass at other times, but I would like to, well, apologize for that incident in particular."

Kravitz didn't think for a second that the blame for his and Taako's fight should rest entirely on his shoulders. 'Torment' was far too strong a descriptor. But his wounded pride simply wasn't worth further contention.

Sometimes, when you cared for someone, you needed to put their feelings first.

Taako blinked. Actual remorse? Where the hell had that come from? "I'm—okay? I may have also—been tired, then. And stressed. I—should not have yelled at you, either, I'm—" shit, he's really doing this, apparently. "I'm sorry. Too."

It was kinda unfair; Kravitz did actually apologize on Saturday, but Taako had been too worked up to care. He let out a sigh. Kravitz hadn't been obnoxious in days, easily. He tried for a conciliatory smile.

Kravitz smiled back like the summer sun. He smiled like a blanket fresh out of the wash, like fresh baked cookies, like a guy relieved of the burden of having his crush mad at him. He could melt. He could sing.

He could, right now, fess up. Messaging Taako as TC tonight wasn't going to feel right. He wanted to throw open the windows of his soul, tear down the sordid pretense he'd been maintaining and scour his conscience. For the first time in years—maybe in his entire adult life—he craved to abandon all pretense. He craved a real, honest connection. With Taako.

A single glimmer of acceptance was almost enough to send him careening off the rails. He needed a plan, dammit. This was too important to screw up. He forced himself to turn his smile down a few notches, back into an acceptable range for two coworkers who newly tolerated each other.

He had no idea what his face was doing while he was overcome with emotion, but it had been doing something, because Lup and Barry were exchanging eyebrow waggles that most nearly read, 'LOL, what the shit?'

Oh, by the lady’s grace, he was going to have to come up with a distraction in a second, because the silence was growing cold and sticky like spilled ice cream. Lup was composing poetry with her eyebrow and ear-waggling. Barry made eye contact with Taako and ate a palmful of candied pecans.

Taako burst out laughing. "Barold, I swear to every god," he said without heat.

"They're tasty boys. They've got that crunch," Barry deadpanned.

"You're not _pudding,_ my dude, or a paying customer either," Taako explained with mock patience as Lup spotted an approaching customer and squeezed past him. He turned to Kravitz. "Have you been enabling him? This is a pecan conspiracy!"

Lup laughed, then picked up a cocktail shaker, all bartender. "What can I getcha?"

"Uhhhhhm, an Old Fashioned," the guy said, squinting at the printed menu through bleached bangs that looked perfectly in place for a music festival...circa 2003.

"Coming right up!" Lup bent down to scoop ice into a mixing glass with her head unprofessionally close to Barry's ass.

Kravitz scooted away from all of them, as far as he could get from Taako. This evening was going well. Very well. He imagined pretending that he couldn't piece together what Taako had said to Lup about inviting him up to the roof for a repeat performance, and asking to follow them home...

A risk like that was premature. And it wouldn't be fair to put Taako on the spot. Kravitz knew he wasn’t wanted. No, his time would be better spent composing what he should say as TC tonight.

It was already growing hard to keep straight what he'd told Taako as himself, or as Trautonium_Corvid. In the pit of his stomach, he dreaded what would happen should he slip up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*+{BLUPJEANS DATE TRACKER}+*~
> 
> 4) Thursday the 20th of June:  
-They're literally working for this one. These dates just get lamer and worse, but they're gone on each other anyway?? Must be true love!
> 
> ~+*{LOVE METER: **100%**}*+~


	18. As Long As You Want/my heart’s black box

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> guess it’s honesty hour in here  
  
  


Trautonium_Corvid  
  
Hey sexy, I'm finally home from work (Face Throwing A Kiss ) miss me?   
  
Welcome home. = * Of course I missed you. I’m on my way back to my apartment, just stuck on the bus for now.   
  
What are your plans for the evening?   
  
Chilling in bed. I'll try to behave until no one's reading over your shoulder (Winking Face ) how was your day babe?   
  
I think I had a good day. Nothing out of the ordinary, really. I’d like to ask how yours went. I know you've been quite busy.   
  
Well Thursdays for me are grind time. I worked an event, this outdoor thing. It was a long af day and I had to work with the guy I told you about. You know, the asshole. But it actually went really well, and it wasn't too busy, like just right to handle :D   
  
I'm glad to hear that it went well. I don't mean to sound like I'm prying, but I'd be delighted if you told me all about it.   
  
Charmer (Kissing Face ) it was this music festival thing they do on olive. My restaurant has a booth there. I did this bourbon pudding thing and it was a huge hit, natch.   
  
My sis was there 2. she does the bartending thing, and this time her boyfriend tagged along and he was surprisingly useful. I swear the dude’s never worked food service in his life but at least his ivory tower ass can handle fetch n carry   
  
Mr asshole coworker surprised me. He was idk making an effort? He apologized for this fight we had, fuckin finally. I’m almost happy with him. Made my whole day feel lucky. All in all a pretty good evening   
  
I’m so glad to hear you had a good evening. And you were due an apology. Do you think things with him—and at work—will proceed well in the future?   
  
I fuckin hope so. Bickering all the time is really exhausting and trying to manage it so we don’t is too.   
  
We did eat some leftover pudding together though, during cleanup so (Person With Folded Hands ≊ Folded Hands) he insisted on doing the whipped cream and pecans himself and it was...a lot (Face With Tears Of Joy )   
  
Uh oh, what do you mean by 'a lot'?   
  
Just SO MUCH whipped cream (Face With Tears Of Joy ) he seems to be new to food, I’m not sure how he’s living. It was delish   
  
So, topic change: What are you doing for the rest of your evening? Straight to bed, I imagine, since you have work early tomorrow?   
  
Well, I mean, I’m in bed, but I don’t have to sleep yet (Winking Face ) are you in bed too? Cause I’ve been imagining you there, or really rather here   
  
I'm back at my apartment, preparing—well, microwaving—dinner, and I'll be on my way to bed shortly. I didn't have the opportunity to eat a real meal earlier; I pretty much just snacked all evening.   
  
Babe I swear to the gods when we finally get that date I’m gonna feed you, please don’t starve my man! I hope at least some of those snacks were tasty (Face Savouring Delicious Food ) or else what’s the point   
  
I'm absurdly excited by the idea of you cooking for me. I would much rather eat anything made by your hands than frozen turkey and mashed potatoes   
  
I so wanna cook for you, babe, you have no idea. Like I cook for lots of people? But it’s different cooking for someone you care about (Growing Heart )   
  
<3 You're so sweet to me. I want to do my utmost to deserve it. I'd offer to cook for you too someday, but it might be a greater expression of affection if I didn't. Instead, I could play you a song. I could write you a song!   
  
Adskjfh heck yeah =3 No one’s ever written me a song before. I’m all over it   
  
We’ve gotta pick a date to meet. It’s wild that we’re in here doing all these declarations when we don’t know what each other looks like   
  
You make me really happy and I just want to keep that rolling. It’s not often that you find someone you like, out of all the people out there. And I don’t believe you can have too much of a good thing   
  
Making you happy is my highest aspiration, currently.   
  
Not to say that I wouldn't want to achieve an orchestra seat eventually. ;-)   
  
I very much want to pick a date to meet. Would it sound silly, though, if I were to tell you that I was nervous about how it may go?   
  
I don't want to risk losing you.   
  
Yeah that does sound silly. You won’t lose me! I like talking to you like this but being in person has all kinds of sweet bennies (Meat On Bone ) (Kiss Mark ) (Aubergine ≊ Eggplant)   
  
Heeeeey we could also talk about some ways to touch each other now (Smirking Face ) we’ll just each have you use our own hands   
  
How about I tell you exactly what I wanna do to you? (Aubergine ≊ Eggplant) (Aubergine ≊ Eggplant) (Aubergine ≊ Eggplant)   
  
Really, you want to do something to me at... 10 o'clock at night, after pulling a double shift? I’m surprised you’re still awake, let alone randy   
  
I can’t help how hot you are (Face Throwing A Kiss ) not gonna say no to that sexy   
  
All you know about my mien right now is that I'm eating Fantasy Hungry-Man, so I'm flattered.   
  
At the same time, I'm equally confident that you're radiant, even after a 12 hour shift.   
  
Well I’m at minimum showered, basically showered and willing, that’s about where the bar is lol   
  
Okay not gonna lie it’s a little hot that you’re making me wait (Winking Face )   
  
I'm realizing that we do have a routine I'm deviating from. We've had quite a bit of fun... I remain largely helpless to resist your wiles, I promise.   
  
I'm sorry I'm preoccupied.   
  
To be honest, I'm intimidated by the prospect of meeting in person. The potential of getting to act out some of our... intimate imaginings. Moreover, I greatly want to share space with you. To hear you laugh, see your smile, have a conversation where I can hear the timbre of your voice and see the way you gesture.   
  
None of this is gonna get horny huh   
  
That’s okay, I’m kinda nervous too. I’m more excited, though, I know you’re sweet but I bet you’re really hot too   
  
Now I’m both flattered and nervous   
  
Don’t misunderstand; I really, really want to fool around. But I need to show my face first.   
  
It’s fine if you don’t wanna be sexy tonight   
  
they say beauty’s on the inside and honestly they probably just haven’t met me. But a good personality’s most important of anything. And you deffo have that going for you   
  
Thank you for understanding. And I hope you think I'm attractive in person   
  
Getting horny tonight... Wow, that is a real actual sentence I just typed.   
  
'Getting horny' tonight feels wrong, with our meeting imminent. I would rather there be no more mysteries or pretenses between us, if that makes sense.   
  
We could just talk about other stuff. Like what kind of date do you think we should have? I’m pretty chill with anything, we could pick something that makes us both feel comfy (Smiling Face With Heart-Shaped Eyes )   
  
I’d like something quiet. Something that lets us talk to each other.   
  
Admittedly, I also quite like gambling. I'm not half-bad, if I do say so myself. But my wallet's not healthy enough to make it a habit.   
  
What's your ideal date, love?   
  
Okay, I can get behind it being more fun if we wait   
  
My ideal date hmmmm   
  
I like the idea of being able to talk, that’s important for a relationship. Like my sister? She and her bf talk like all the time, and I think they might be the real deal.   
  
Gambling’s fun, you’re right it can get expensive tho. Unless it’s strip poker, but we can keep that idea for later. Or hey what if we had a picnic?   
  
I would love a picnic. Just the two of us, somewhere quiet, enjoying each others' company and the sounds of nature. As long as I'm dreaming, I'd like to picture an idyllic field of flowers.   
  
We could spend the whole afternoon telling stories and getting to know each other. You never told me how you learned to cook.   
  
Fuck yeah sounds great. I can tell you all about that and you can tell me all about your favorite music. It’s hard to know what that sounds like over text but in person you can show me (Revolving Hearts )   
  
We could go to a park for it or really I’d be happy anywhere. Hell, there’s a little patio set on top of my building lol   
  
On top of your building sounds nice. But I'm something of a traditionalist, and I haven't had an opportunity to visit a park—well, other than the one on campus—for nearly five years.   
  
The idea of stretching out in the grass is romantic to me. Though doubtless there are all manner of insects and pests I'm not considering.   
  
...This is sort of an odd question, since you don't really know me. But, I find myself unable to banish the thought... What do you see yourself wanting, should our meeting go well?   
  
I guess in the short term if it goes well we could spend more time together and then long term   
  
I don’t know planning long term is hard cause there’s so much that could happen but I’d kinda like whatever happens to happen with you   
  
Wow usually you’re the sappy one (Face With Stuck-Out Tongue )   
  
I am usually the sappy one.   
  
but like with some folks the whole thing would’ve fallen apart after our last try at a date. I kinda want something sturdy that’ll withstand some bs I guess. My friends are starting to settle down, and my sister, I kinda want something like they have   
  
In all honesty   
  
I hadn't been sure what you wanted until now. It's the sort of conversation we should have had much sooner, I think. Because you never struck me as the type of person who was looking to settle down. You're so much more adventurous than I've ever been. Some of the stories you've told me about you and your sister have made me laugh so hard I cried. You're brilliant, you're ambitious, you're vivacious. Frankly, you're incredible... and I have always had trouble picturing myself keeping up with you.   
  
But, if you're looking for something that lasts... Then we both feel that way. And I think we might have a chance.   
  
I'm scared of messing it up.   
  
So am I   
  
I’m terrified   
  
A lot of the time I’m just really hard to put up with, like I’m kind of a dick and don’t communicate so good. I’m kinda worried we’ll fight over something dumb and that’ll be it   
  
guess it’s honesty hour in here   
  
I promise you that, whatever your faults with communication may be, I'm worse. And that a few dumb fights won't scare me off.   
  
I've been very reluctant to share personal details about myself that I view as... disappointing.   
  
But, if you're looking for something that lasts... Then we both feel that way. And I think we might have a chance.   
  
Here's one: my student apartment is kind of a shithole. That's why I didn't want to bring you back there. I really wanted to make our first date an opportunity to impress you.   
  
Jeezy creezy that’s so sweet. What do I do with that?   
  
Okay I guarantee you I won’t sweat your shithole apartment <3   
  
I’ve lived in some pretty grody ones, kinda mattress on the floor bullshit?   
  
and here I mean a used mattress your sister helps you pick off the curb and cart home and youre praying its not full of bedbugs but the alternative is sleeping in a pile of your clothes and you dont want them wrinkled and smelly and your back is killing you from shiftwork on your feet day in day out   
  
Don’t get me wrong we’ve been good for a while now. U don’t forget something like that is all   
  
As long as you don’t mind hanging out around my sister and her bf a lot, my apartment’s good, but they are pretty much always being a little gross in one way or another (Unamused Face )   
  
I had somehow never gotten that you'd suffered through a 'mattress-on-the-floor' phase.   
  
babe I’m barely out of that phase   
  
Having my sister helps   
  
I think that misperception stems from knowing you've always had your sister. That bespeaks a certain level of stability and good fortune to me. I have no idea if I have any siblings, and I'll likely never find out.   
  
But I should not have assumed that other areas of your life would be easier for lacking that challenge.   
  
going thru it together was also the hardest thing, cause she was broke too, and like I wanted her with me so we weren’t alone. But I didn’t want her to also be in a hard spot, if that makes sense. We both bust our asses, but it just kinda took awhile to pay off I guess   
  
I'm so glad you have this job. And I would be thrilled to hang out with you, your sister, and her boyfriend. I just hope that they like me.   
  
I think they’ll love you, my man. why wouldn’t they? You’re smart and talented and sweet and so good to me. That’s what’s important (Sparkling Heart )   
  
I hope you know you're all of those things too. Moreso, even. I grow more deeply impressed with you every day. I'm sure that if I had any family, they would love you as well. <3   
  
I have testing again this week. Give me a couple days to come up with a plan for a second take on our first date?   
  
Sure   
  
Yes   
  
No rush, I mean. I’m fucking bushed over here. The work schedule’s starting to really get to me.   
  
I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do for you?   
  
Nah I’ll live. I’ve had it this bad before and I’m getting paid a lot better where I am. It’s nicer knowing that I’m making that sweet $18/hr + overtime.   
  
Way better than when I worked at the same place as my sister. I waited tables and most of my cash came from tips. It fucking sucked. Relying on the goodness of strangers is a racket   
  
I’m honestly glad that you’re making enough money to be comfortable. But it’s not worth compromising your health in the long run.   
  
I should let you sleep now, and we can text again in the morning.   
  
Yeah I guess youre right   
  
Hey babe   
  
Yes, love?   
  
I miss you   
  
I miss you too   
  
Wish you were here   
  
I wish I was too. More than anything.   
  
Goodnight, T. Sleep well. <3   
  
Night. u sleep well 2 (Sparkling Heart ) (Sparkling Heart ) (Sparkling Heart )   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> these two... if their profile pics were their actual faces, they might be married by now


	19. Happiness In Misery/I don’t care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ... Date night? Uh oh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Kravitz, how's that masterplan to ask Taako out so you can confess your most intimate secrets going? Poorly? Who'd've thunk!
> 
> Taako's not a Sim. You can't fill his relationship bar to max before you risk coming clean.

Taako unlocked the back door of the shop on Friday morning with a single purpose: orders. He needed to finish up and have them ready for Angus. In the meantime, Kravitz could shove any complaints up his ass. Even with the apologies last night, Taako wasn’t willing to risk another fight.

At least he wasn’t quite so tired this Friday. Texting Trautonium_Corvid in bed took less energy than climbing around on fire escapes.

He kind of hated to admit it, but that night had been pretty fun. Hopefully last night’s apology was a sign that he would see more of that version of Kravitz, instead of the snippy asshole who yelled at him last week.

He mulled this over as he pulled the tupperwares and trays out of the fridge, assembling everything he’d need to prep in between working on orders. Whatever he and Kravitz had between them was, frankly, way too fraught for a relationship between coworkers. That alone made him want to wash his hands of the whole thing.

Up on the rooftop, sweeping the bow across his violin with the haze of the city at his back, Kravitz had been something. Everything else surrounding that moment kind of sucked, but it was worth seeing. He wouldn’t mind a repeat performance someday. Maybe plus a glass of classy wine and minus the dancing dwarf.

He really needed to stay on his toes with Merle. It sounded like he’d completely misread the vibe between Taako and Kravitz.

Taako should probably actually figure out what that vibe was himself, as a matter of fact. Kravitz’s sudden flip from hostile to pleasant was baffling, maybe suspicious. It wasn’t stopping, either. Last night Kravitz had been...well, if Taako liked him, he’d be tempted to say _charming._

Gods, the long shifts were getting to him, making him think nonsense. He groaned, closed his eyes, and rested his forehead against an overhead cabinet. He needed some fucking sleep. The idea of people in general was kind of overwhelming right now, tee-bee-aich, so he was gonna cherish this last precious hour of being free from—

Kravitz. Who was definitely not supposed to be at work yet, much less in Taako's kitchen. But lo and behold, that was his head poking out of the pantry. He waved awkwardly. "Er, good morning. I didn’t want to startle you."

He looked extremely cheerful for a dude who was at work more than an hour early. And for a dude wearing a polo and slacks at a retail job when it was sweltering out. Did he not have anything casual in his wardrobe? This was like the third time he'd worn black slacks since Monday.

Taako refrained from rolling his eyes. Barely. “Hey. Orders are almost ready, should be by the time Angus is in.”

Wait, hold on, was it already opening? Time sure was an illusion, huh? Taako paused and checked his phone. No, Kravitz was just. Here. Way early, okay, weird? Kravitz was always exactly on time, like he had his life regulated to the shop’s rhythm. “You got a bunch of orders up front or something? Didn’t expect you in yet.”

Kravitz attempted a smile that came out more like a grimace. He'd made this so awkward. Doing something spontaneously nice for Taako as a coworker was hard. He wished he could rely on the mainstays of flowers or chocolates. He could’ve afforded the splurge; it was payday, and Brad was scrupulous about getting those direct deposits out first thing.

"I knew you were up late—I mean, with the festival running so late, and you having worked a full day beforehand—that is to say. I um, I've been here for half an hour. I already finished the orders. Except whatever comes in between now and...eleven." He broke off rambling and rubbed the back of his neck. 

Taako blinked. That was...hmmm. There was a lot to unpack. It was probably a good idea for Kravitz to come in early so they didn’t run late on orders, but...the way Kravitz said it made it sound like he’d made that call in light of Taako’s workload. It sounded like he _thought_ about Taako’s workload, at all.

Taako was gonna find out what this dude’s fucking game was, swear to the gods, this shit was weird as _hell._ What did Kravitz _want?_

The silence had stretched on for too many seconds. Now he and Kravitz were just staring at each other awkwardly. “Um, cool. Thanks, I guess. Good job,” he said.

Kravitz looked like he’d been smacked in the forehead. He made to nod very seriously, but did so while scooting away to escape out the door, so his head bobbed up and down and his locs flopped everywhere.

By the lady, was he blushing? When he had played this scene out in his head, he cast himself as aloof and charming. Now one half-assed compliment from Taako had him going to pieces.

He just didn't know how to act. He was chained by the weight of all the things he couldn't say, everything Taako had bared to him unknowingly. The quiet reassurances and shared flirtations and laughter and easy jokes, venting about their failures and cheering for each other’s triumphs.

Kravitz would have never guessed that Taako had the capacity for all those intimate moments from their in-person meetings. That was a gross failure on his part.

More and more, he was failing to play the role of a mere coworker. Whenever he opened his mouth, whatever words tumbled out, his feelings should be writ on his tongue and his brow and shine from his eyes. He couldn't look at Taako, because Taako would know.

So he kept nodding, squeaked out "Yes-you-thanks", and fled for the front counter.

Taako shook his head. “Alright, bye,” he called, vaguely addressing the space where Kravitz’s butt had just been. What in the actual hell was that? He went back to the orders, then paused and pulled out his phone to text Trautonium_Corvid.

Hey handsome, how’s your morning? I’m having such a nice day at work the only way it could be nicer is if you were here (Face Throwing A Kiss )   
  


The reply took a long time to come. The dots that showed TC was typing flashed forever, like he was about to send some kind of dissertation. What finally came through was **I'm very glad you're having a nice day at work.**

Yup, that was affection. Nailed it. Kravitz let his head thud down on the counter so loud he fancied Taako could hear from the kitchen. He just needed a moment to gather himself. He couldn’t figure out his next move unless his head was completely together.

Because his next move should be to confess, but it had been six days and he didn’t have a plan.

Less than a minute later, when Kravitz’s heart rate was barely slowing, the bell over the shop door jingled. In walked Captain Davenport, a gnomish man with a straight posture and an air of authority. “Kravitz,” he said in greeting, “nice to see you again, how have you been?”

Kravitz brightened immediately. He straightened up, glad for the distraction. "Captain! How are you? It's been longer than usual, has work been alright?"

Davenport was a good friend of Brad's and one of his favorite customers. As a pilot, he would be away for weeks at a time, but he'd visit once a month or so. And those visits were always a joy. Few other customers indulged Kravitz's ramblings about the store's stock. The captain had his favorites—Lagavulin, and he was the only person who ever bought the Macallan Scotch—but he was adventurous, usually picking up a bottle of something new on Kravitz's recommendation. And, sometimes, he'd bring something he didn't like back to share with Kravitz and Carey.

Davenport walked along the length of the shelves, appraising their contents and lingering over anything new since his last visit. “It’s been excellent, I’m glad to be home for now though. I thought I might bring home a bottle of Macallan. Seemed like just the thing for a nice night in.”

"Absolutely." Kravitz swept out from behind the counter. "Also, I have a cognac I rather thought you'd enjoy. We've got a new Remy Martin, the _carte blanche à baptiste loiseau."_ He grinned, proud of his rendition of a French accent. "It's spiced and somewhat fruity, with notes of cloves and plum."  


Or so he'd been told. Kravitz really, really didn't have the money to crack open a bottle for himself.

“That sounds _very_ good, I’ll take both,” Davenport answered. 

Kravitz’s smile slipped off his face as he looked over the shelves. The Macallan—where was it? He could've sworn he saw it on Monday, and there in the case was an empty spot of just the right size. He unlocked the glass door and peered between the other whiskeys, as if he was going to spot the bottle squeezed in the back. Had Carey sold it? To whom?

Davenport came to stand at his elbow, peering into the case with him. “Do you not have my scotch? I thought nobody else bought the stuff.”

"It's possible we might have one in the back." No it wasn't. The 'stockroom' was the size of Kravitz's kitchen—that is to say, it was a uselessly cramped set of cabinets on the far wall of the pantry, tucked only mostly out of Taako's way. Kravitz just couldn't stand to disappoint Davenport. "Let me check."

Instead of braving Taako's curious gaze, Kravitz returned to his station and pecked the name into the inventory database. They really and truly were out. Frustrated, and keenly aware of Davenport's eyes on him, he checked the sales records.

And there it was. Purchased yesterday evening from Carey, while he and Taako were running the festival booth. _"Merrrrrrrle fuckin' Highchurch,"_ slipped out of his mouth in a growl.

“Did you say Merle?” asked Davenport. He chuckled and shook his head. “That old softie.”

Damn it, divulging any customer information was absolutely forbidden, much less swearing about them. "I'm _so sorry,_ that was terribly rude of me— Wait, what?"

“He knows I love the stuff, he must’ve bought it to surprise me. I tell you Kravitz, that’s how you know you’re in it for the long haul together. If your man knows your brand of Scotch by heart, that’s the real deal,” Davenport replied.

"I—I did say Merle." Kravitz's face went through a full three-act play. Surely Davenport must've misheard the name. It was news that he had a partner, but—Merle? The crunchy dwarf with the hippie beard? Who asked multiple times if Far Corners sold weed? _That_ Merle?

Davenport smoothed his mustache down, a pleased smile playing across his face. “I’ll pretend I don’t know if it’s a surprise. Our anniversary’s coming up, he must be planning. I’ll just take the cognac then.”

Kravitz turned away and bustled to the shelf so he could get his face under control. "I didn't know you had a—partner? Husband?"

Goddess, and it was Merle? Davenport was always so... so _polished._ Professional, erudite, congenial, any other adjective that did not describe Merle; the dwarf wore Birkenstocks with _socks_. He kept _growing things_ in his beard hair.

Davenport had once lamented that he would like to grow a beard, but pilots were only allowed mustaches. For safety purposes: he'd said oxygen masks would not seal properly over hair. Maybe that was his type?!

“I’m so glad to have some time off with him and the kids. It’s been too long,” Davenport said. “I’d better get him a nice potted plant.”

Kravitz turned with the Remy Martin in his hand and did his level best to not gape. "I didn't know you had kids." _Merle's_ kids? Who let Merle have kids?

Davenport nodded and leaned against the counter. “Well, they’re from Merle’s first marriage, but it doesn’t really make a difference. Family’s family.”

Had Kravitz really been acquainted with Davenport for the better part of three years and not managed to learn a thing about his personal life? Did he just... not know how to have normal conversations about things other than work?

Signs pointed to 'yes'. He realized he was mindlessly extending the bottle towards Davenport and pivoted neatly to carry it to the register.

“They’re growing up so fast, sometimes I can’t believe it,” Davenport continued.

Kravitz nodded dumbly. That sounded so very domestic. A partner—with kids!—who brought your favorite scotch home as a surprise. How had Merle Fuckin' Highchurch, of all people, gotten it together enough to find such happiness? And with Davenport, a strait-laced airman?

And yet, for all their differences—and despite Davenport's time on the road—the joy in his voice when he talked about his partner was unmistakable. Merle was clearly very special to him. They were as close as could be.

...Did this mean Davenport did weed too?

"That's marvelous," Kravitz said, sounding only slightly strained. He refused to be jealous or judgmental of Merle (fucking) Highchurch. More to the point, he was going to be a good friend. "You know, you and Merle could always bring your kids in here. We actually do sandwiches now, and some other prepared foods. Our new chef, Taako, is incredibly skilled."

“Taako’s the chef?” Davenport laughed. “Brad told me he hired someone; he mentioned he’d like to treat you both to a dinner out with us on Friday as a thank-you for getting this project off the ground, but I didn’t realize Taako got the job. Small world! His aunt would be so proud.”

Kravitz saw that he was going to have to accept that Taako knew everyone in his life. Next he would find out that his academic advisor loved Taako too, somehow. "I should have realized you two knew each other. Is that dinner _this_ Friday? Tonight?"

He hadn't heard anything about that from Brad, but then again, he put together the orders early this morning instead of checking his phone or email.

Davenport paused. “That’s right, today is Friday,” he said good-humoredly. “I’m a little off-schedule from getting home. Wait, is Taako _here?_ I should say hi.”

"Yes, this door—" Kravitz replied, darting to push it open. He could ruminate on the consequences of getting dinner with _Taako and their boss_ later. Or at least, that was what he told himself. Meanwhile, in the back of his brain, a full orchestra was tuning up for a symphony of anxiety in D# minor. "Taako?"

Taako dropped a towel onto the counter in front of him. "What's up? Got an order?" he asked, a little warily. 'Taako?' as one might say 'excuse me', what was Kravitz _doing?_ This was an appropriate way for Kravitz to address him and that set off all kinds of alarm bells. Since when...ugh, really the whole situation was taking too much mental energy. He really should talk it through with Lup later, but she had been mega-weird last night, so who knew what kind of outlandish shit the two of them would come up with at this point.

“Ah, no, a friend wanted to say hi,” Kravitz said, stepping aside.

Taako headed for the kitchen door. "Oh, hey, Cap'nport, how's it hanging?"

"Hey, Taako, I didn't realize you worked here now! Congrats on the new job, how exciting," Davenport said.

"He's been doing phenomenally," Kravitz put in, and was immediately overcome with the desire to sink into the floor, because that was far too over-the-top for what Taako had cause to expect from him.

“Thanks, dude,” Taako said distractedly. Kravitz’s internal crises were not his problem. He did shoot a weird glance over there to the oddball zone, out of the corner of his eye. “So are you in town long?” he asked Davenport.

“I’m here for a week this time,” Davenport said. “Two weeks on, one week off, and we’ve got a new captain, so _hopefully_ I’ll get to keep to that schedule.”

"So, er, about that dinner later—" Kravitz cut himself off and fumbled with his phone, confirming that yes, he did have unread texts from Brad. So maybe Taako had already seen the invitation. He hoped. Because Kravitz felt that he might expire on the spot if he was left to inform his not-boyfriend of their impending not-date. He cast an anxious look at Davenport. "Do we... Does Brad have a time in mind?"

“Seven, I think. This should be fun! I’m looking forward to it,” Davenport answered.

Taako looked slowly between the two men. “Are you guys going to dinner?”

Kravitz punched his finger to his phone and pulled up Brad's messages. "No— I mean, yes, but— Just, here—" he babbled. He felt like a shaken bottle of coke.

The idea of being the one to invite Taako out, of crossing that line under false pretenses, made his stomach roil. But he wanted that evening so badly. Panicking, he handed his phone to Taako.

And then surely everyone must have seen the way he imploded under his skin. He could feel his innards collapse to dust and fill with buzzing wasps. How stupid could he be? Grindr was open behind Brad's messages and _Taako had his phone._

Taako glanced at the messages. Sure enough, Brad’s invitation to dinner, at seven, that evening. Boy, Brad wouldn’t know a plan if it grabbed him by the tusks, huh?

And this phone—okay wow, it looked old from a distance, but up close it was easy to see the wear and tear on the ancient Samsung, scratches and dings and a crack in the camera lens. Gods, what did he and Lup have back when this was out? Probably still the weird LG ones with the backwards buttons they got free on contract that time. Never again. Bullying their way onto Merle and Dav’s family plan had been a lifesaver, especially with Dav’s veteran discount.

Taako flipped the phone, realizing that the design he felt on the silicone case was a skull—was there no end to the goth stuff? Between Lup and Barry and Kravitz, Taako might as well just go work at a Halloween popup shop, join in the fun.

The phone display timed out. Taako handed it back. “Must’ve missed the text, yeah, I’ll be there,” he said.

A vein was bulging in Kravitz's neck. He frantically flicked the display back on and felt his entire body go weak as he affirmed that the SMS messenger was still the active app. Every second Taako spent scrutinizing his phone had aged him ten years. He might swoon with relief.

He straightened up when he noticed the concerned look Davenport had leveled him with. "So long as neither of you are feeling under the weather,” Davenport said. “Brad knows he's been working you hard. Taako, would you want to go to that place we tried in May, with Merle and Magnus? What was that called?"

“That place Paloma runs? Crystal’s? I think that’s what it was called, it was real good.” Taako turned to Kravitz. “The scones she does for Sunday brunch are fucking amazing. And the only place I’ve ever had better calamari was my own kitchen,” he said with a touch of smugness.

“That’s the one, want to just meet there a little before seven?” Davenport asked.

"I'm excited to try it," Kravitz replied, swallowing his nerves. "I'll see you both tonight."

Not that he knew how he was going to get there. How would he even broach the subject? Taako already disliked him enough without any further impositions. As an adult, Kravitz firmly felt that he should be able to figure out his own transportation. Goddess only knew where Crystal's was, but surely the bus line went _somewhere_ nearby.

“Cool if I catch a ride? I’ll bring tunes,” Taako wheedled unselfconsciously. A _real_ functional adult knew when to ask for help.

Davenport laughed. “I figured. One of these days I’m gonna talk Magnus into teaching you—”

“Excuse you, I _can_ drive, I just choose to carpool so as not to kill the planet and also I don’t _have_ a _car,”_ Taako protested. “Plus I’m too cute to drive. So.”

Kravitz turned away and slunk to the register with his face warm. He was abruptly, intensely jealous—and not of Davenport, for being so close to Taako. No. It was simply that...Taako's life seemed charmed. He had so many hands to help him. Lup to share his home with, Angus to recommend him to his job, Davenport to drive him around. (Presumably Magnus and Merle also contributed something of value as friends, though Kravitz couldn't imagine what.)

At the same time, he remembered the things Taako hadn't meant to tell him. The little fears and insecurities that were far too intimate for casual disclosure. Long nights spent waiting tables for bad tips, fighting and scrounging to save for culinary school, only for something to go wrong at the eleventh hour that derailed his graduation.

Now it seemed he'd moved past that all. Despite never securing his diploma, he was working as a chef and doing an excellent job.

Kravitz found that, underneath his jealousy, he was glad. Taako was amazing. He deserved every good thing this world had to offer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taako’s focus on judging Kravitz’s phone while it literally holds all the answers shows why he needs a family around him. Someone please call Lup and ask her to bring an emergency brain cell by the shop.
> 
> *
> 
> This early update brought to you by self-isolation. Happy pandemic, everybody wash your hands, queue up Netflix, and fight to minimize risk to vulnerable people in your communities.


	20. Your Perfect Disaster/face the music

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako and Kravitz have a well-earned night out with friends. That is not a date, no matter what Merle says.
> 
> Except, Kravitz realizes, it should have been.
> 
> He needs to stop having these realizations too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone from Kravitz's backstory is named in tangential reference to grim reapers in pop culture.

That night, Taako stepped out of Davenport’s slick BMW as Merle and Davenport climbed out of the front seats, which were jacked as far to the dash as they could go. That left a lot of legroom in the back, certainly a perk to riding with them.

Taako spotted Brad on the sidewalk, about to go inside, and rushed to catch up. “Hey, my dude, we’re here!”

Brad smiled weakly. He looked kind of exhausted, with dark green circles under his eyes and his ponytail haphazard. Long day at work, like all his other days. But he perked right up and stooped down to give Davenport a side-hug with an arm the size of the gnome’s torso. “Excellent! Good to see you all. Did Kravitz ride with you or is he coming separately?”

“Separately,” Davenport answered. “Should be along any minute, I’d expect.”

Brad pulled open the door and in short order the hostess had secured them a table, flushed with pink lighting from faux-crystal chandeliers that always seemed about to fall. Taako slid into one of the chairs, nodding along to some sort of upbeat electronica playing. If there’s one thing this place had, it was _ambiance_, and if there were two things they were that and calamari.

The waitress came around for drink orders, and he sipped his key-lime Fantasy Sprite and bounced his leg to stifle his growling stomach until it was time to pick appetizers for the table. Between the fried calamari, ceviche, and the knockoff Bloomin’ Onion, they ordered way more calories than four dudes could reasonably eat.

Oh, wait, hold on—where was Kravitz?

Roughly in the same neighborhood, but otherwise Kravitz didn't know where he was either. The closest bus stop had proved to be a good six blocks away, and along a line he wasn't familiar with. He hadn't been this far from campus since Winter-Shriving at his temple in March, when his advisor drove them both up for the service and supper. That was also the last time he'd gotten a car ride from anyone.

It was impossible to tell where the sun was positioned in the sky with so many tall buildings boxing him in. Which was terrible, because Google Maps had crashed his phone, so the low-tech solution was his last resort.

Ultimately, he wandered an extra four blocks along crowded sidewalks before his phone managed to restart. At the same time, the sun peeked out between two townhouses, framed by lines of rainbow crocheted art hung across their narrow alley. Kravitz cursed and turned on his heel to sprint back the way he came.

He was long out of breath by the time he caught sight of Crystal's pink neon sign.He shoved through the doors and stopped in the reception area to catch his breath, ignoring the host’s questioning look.

He cast around the dining room. His hair was a frizzy mess. Sweat was beading on his forehead and staining his armpits, and there was Taako at a table not ten feet away, facing towards him and chewing on something.

“Ah, there he is,” Brad said jovially. He waved Kravitz over to the table. “Come on and have a seat, glad you made it!”

Taako pushed the plate of calamari toward Kravitz with a little smirk and a raised eyebrow. “Tentacle? You look like you could use it, my dude.”

Kravitz squinted at the magenta-lit squiggle. "Oh, calamari? Yes, _ please _." Too tired to be anxious, he plopped down next to Taako and gratefully took the plate from his hands.

Merle guffawed and elbowed Davenport. "Sharing tentacles already! I'm calling it Taakitz."

Taako wheezed. Merle was calling _what, what now?_ There was no _ Taakitz_, even if he was flattered to have his name first when the alternative was Kravko, the thing was that the thing being described _didn't exist_. “‘Scuse me, _what? Taakitz?_ That’s not a thing,” he protested.

“Not a thing? Merle said Pan said you two were in a ship,” Davenport asked confusedly.

“No, no, I _ ship _them. Mavis told me how it works,” Merle corrected. “It’s when you pick people to root for in dating. You gotta get hip with the youth lingo!”

A strangled _ hurking _ noise came from Kravitz, who'd been mid-chew when Merle stopped his heart. The indignity of having a living body was almost worse than the sudden indignity of having a social group. He should've known disaster was impending the second he saw the dwarf at the table. Brad valiantly pounded his back until the tentacle dislodged from his throat. "Can we _ not? _" he wheezed.

Merle crossed his arms over his beard with a grin. "What? You're telling me you don't like Taako? Everybody likes Taako."

Taako looked at Kravitz strangely, then waved a dismissive hand. "Cool, yeah, I'm great, we all know, eat a tentacle," he said. Maybe if everyone filled their godsdamned mouths, they'd all stop _ fucking talking_. "I'm not really looking to date anyone new right now, so." He shrugged.

Davenport nodded sagely. "That’s completely fair. Maybe we should focus on ordering our entrees, people."

"Yes, thank you," Kravitz said.

Then he realized: what if Taako felt responsibility for his abrasiveness instead of Merle, the real culprit? What if his eagerness to change the topic was read as a stinging rejection? He didn't want Taako to think he was uncomfortable with complimenting him! "I mean, Taako is charming— Wait, let me start that one over."

The waitress came over to save him in the nick of time. "What'll it be, everyone?"

Brad favored her with a wide grin. As she started taking orders, Taako surreptitiously cast an odd glance at Kravitz.

What was this dude's deal?

Doing his level best to cope with Taako’s scrutiny, Kravitz puffed his chest out to stop from curling in on himself. He flashed the waitress a smile with thin lips and way too many teeth. "I'll have the carne asada, please. Extra spicy."

This was a _ nice night_. Brad was paying for dinner. Kravitz was going to sit next to Taako and have a good, platonic time.

It would be grossly unfair to place any expectations on Taako. He'd lost his chance to have his feelings returned. It may very well be best to let this whole thing blow over. Let his crush fade, let Taako never find out what nearly happened, so he never experiences a fraction of Kravitz's discomfort.

"So, Taako, how long have you worked at Far Corners?" Davenport asked as the waitress headed off to put their orders in.

"Like three weeks, almost," Taako answered.

Brad folded his hands on the table and visibly flipped into Business Meeting mode. "He's already making an impression, though. He came up with the idea to do catering on day one and it’s been a great boon. I had some reservations about taking on a new project, as I'm rarely able to be in the shop myself. But everyone stepped up to the plate. I really have Kravitz to thank for making sure that Taako gets supplies and training and such. He's really put in the work to support Taako and get these festivals off the ground.”

Kravitz froze with a fried tentacle poking out between his lips, then choked it down as quickly as possible. "Ah, yes, of course," he coughed. Out of platitudes, he grabbed for a napkin and pretended to be busy wiping grease off his mouth.

The lady help him, he felt _ so guilty_. Brad clearly had no idea that Kravitz spent the first week and a half of Taako's employment boiling over with resentment and avoiding him. Taako hadn't complained once.

Taako had done it all alone: establishing the kitchen, preparing meals, planning the festival menus. It wasn’t enough that Kravitz was trying now, after deciding he liked Taako. As assistant manager, it was his job to offer support, regardless of the circumstances around Taako’s hiring or Kravitz's personal opinions on his character. And he'd pettily shirked his duties. He'd sniped and griped, ordered Taako around, neglected training, and abandoned him in the kitchen. He'd only made an effort after realizing who Taako was to him.

Every single one of the worst things Kravitz initially assumed about Taako could've been true, and he still wouldn't deserve to have been treated like that. It was shameful that he had to realize he lo— That he _ cared deeply _ for Taako as a person and was _ invested _in his success, before beginning to put in the minimum effort Taako was due all along.

Merle propped his elbows on the table. "Hey Kravitz, you choking over there? You're looking awful purple, bud. Does anyone know the hind-lich maneuver?"

Taako reached over and supplied a firm _ thump _between Kravitz's shoulder blades. That’s twice he’d forgotten how swallowing worked, jeezy creezy. This was like how cats throw up after scarfing kibble, he was devouring that calamari way too fast. "He seems fine, you good, my dude?"

"Leave the boys be, Merle, now you're just messing with them," Brad said blandly.

Davenport chuckled. "That's my Merle for you, always messing with folks."

Taako rolled his eyes. "You can say that again," he snorted.

“Hey, you guys just don’t appreciate the support I’m offering!” Merle laughed.

Kravitz hunched over and rolled his shoulder blades. The spot Taako hit stung and radiated liquid warmth down his spine. Their thighs were almost close enough to brush. The anxiety was going to kill him.

"I'm sorry, Brad, can I drink? Is that alright?" he said abruptly.

"Yes, that's alright," Brad said with a nod. "Merle ordered a margarita before you got here."

"Sure did!" Merle cackled and rubbed his hands.

"Then I think I'll try something simple. Maybe a Pinot." Kravitz flipped open the wine menu.

Taako chuckled. “Hold up, dude, a _ Pinot? _ With carne asada? For real? I thought you were the booze expert, you’re slipping my dude.”

Kravitz twisted in his seat to face Taako. "Look, I know pairings! But I'm not going to ask Brad for an Old Fashioned, or spirits in general. And I like Pinot."

"You could," Brad said evenly, scrolling on his phone. Probably checking his work email, the maniac.

Taako shot Brad a thumbs up and grabbed a wine menu. “Alright, speak to me of Sauvignon Blanc,” he murmured as he paged through it.

Kravitz went on. "Sometimes, you just want to cut loose and drink something sweet and fruity!" And also acidic, with Taako's chosen drink. That _ would _be his style.

Davenport gave Kravitz a strange look before seeming to decide that maybe his input would only force the situation further off the rails. He turned back to Merle and stole his drink menu, opening it up to share between the two of them.

The waitress approached with her notepad out. She was smart to avoid them until the explosion of noise from their table died down. Brad ought to tip very well. "So, have you decided on drinks or do we need a little more time?"

"Yes," Kravitz said, and pointed to Taako. "I'll have what he's having."

Taako snorted a laugh. “Okay, two glasses of this Sauvignon Blanc.” Smirking at Kravitz, he tapped his finger on the menu. “Let’s cut loose then.” He put his elbows on the table and his chin on the back of his hands.

Merle gave Davenport and Brad a significant look that seemed to say, ‘See? Am I right or am I right?’.

“Another margarita, please,” Davenport said. He raised an eyebrow at Merle as the waitress moved on to Brad.

"I'll have an Old Fashioned," Brad said, sending Kravitz a wry look. "Thank you."

Kravitz sighed. "I promise I'm perfectly fine having my carne asada with a white. Merle’s margarita is taking a long time, so I’m happy not complicating our order."

"I think it's great that you both characterized having a glass of white wine with dinner as 'cutting loose'," Davenport said with a smile. He tipped his chin at Taako and Kravitz. "You're responsible adults now, boys."

Taako snorted. “He is maybe,” he said, jerking a thumb at Kravitz. “I just know what I want. This dude, though, what are you, Krav, eighty? In the body of a 23-year-old? Some sort of weird immortal stuff, I don’t know.” Taako waved his hand vaguely.

Merle laughed. “As though you aren’t always blowing us off. ‘I gotta work, Merle’, ‘Gotta go to bed, got work tomorrow’! You’re edging toward boring, man, busting your hump all the time,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“I gotta make rent!” Taako protested.

“There we go, welcome to adulthood,” Davenport confirmed.

Kravitz flashed a smile. "Well, I think responsibility suits us both. Even if only one of us is secretly immortal."

"You've really risen to the occasion with the prepared foods initiative," Brad affirmed. "I can't thank you enough for your time. With how well we've been doing, I can really see us expanding the business over the next few months. I have quite a few ideas I've been developing."

Taako didn’t _ blush _ , he didn’t _ do _that, except for when Trautonium_Corvid said something particularly sweet.

He sure did come damn close, though.

“Yeah, well,” he mumbled. “If we’re gonna do the thing may as well not half-ass it, y’know.”

Kravitz folded his hands in his lap and suppressed a wince. Whatever Brad was envisioning was bound to be a lot of work. And he didn't want to commit his life to Far Corners. He was supposed to focus on graduating. If he was ever to become a conductor, he needed to find opportunities to perform as soon as possible. But, thus far, he'd only attended music events to serve food.

At the same time, this was good for Taako's career. He deserved to run a kitchen, no matter what had happened in culinary school. He excelled at it. "I think that all sounds fantastic," Kravitz said to Brad. "I've seen the numbers; our sales really are doing well. We'll soon be overworking Angus with deliveries."

Brad grinned around his tusks. "It's too bad he and Carey weren't available to join us tonight. Respective family commitments— Carey has, as she put it, 'a hot date'."

Merle cheerfully wolf-whistled, just in time to alarm the waitress coming up behind him with a platter of drinks. Taako snickered and accepted the wine glasses, passing one to Kravitz.

“Thinking of bringing on some people?” Davenport asked Brad. “There’s no way you can squeeze any more work hours into your schedule. You need a bigger team.”

Brad nodded. "It's definitely on the table. If demand for Taako’s cooking continues to grow, we'll need all the help we can get. I can't ask him to keep working fifty-hour weeks, but I'd love to start serving fresh food on weekends. And me being alone in the store on Sundays drastically reduces what can get done. But, for now, I'm waiting to see how sales keep up. Kravitz, I'll need your recommendation for which area we could most use the extra hand. I know orders have been on the rise too."

"Yes, of course," Kravitz said. “The festivals have definitely drawn more foot traffic, but the orders have increased even faster. We may need to ask Angus to make deliveries three days a week.”

Taako nodded. “That’s good news, long as you get someone who knows what they’re doing, y’know? Never know what we could do.”

Kravitz opened his mouth to ask how and Brad would like that report, but the waitress swooped in again, this time with a platter piled high with food. She placed the steaming plate of carne asada in front of him and his stomach audibly growled.

Taako laughed and picked up a fork. Did Kravitz just not eat when he wasn’t at work? “Here’s my two cents: if we could get someone who can help out with the cooking _ and _manage orders? That’d be phenomenal.”

Merle laughed. “You gonna give Krav his fork back?”

Taako looked down, rolled his eyes, and handed it over. “Whoops,” he quipped. No harm done.

"No harm done," Kravitz said, unknowingly echoing Taako's thoughts. He hadn't realized how close they'd scooched together until he had to shift his chair to make space for the waitress. She set down a second plate in front of Taako, loaded with fat, pink shrimp skewers, each dotted with herbs and glistening with butter. The lemon-garlic smell made his mouth water. Dammit, he should've let Taako pick his food, too.

"You eyeballing his food or his knee under there?" Merle said, grinning over his portobello enchiladas. "Because, I gotta say when it comes down to it, that Dav—"

"That I have the sexiest knees at the table, yes," Davenport interrupted. "Merle, you have cracked this exact joke before, and I think that kind of says everything about either your personality or our relationship, doesn't it."

"Why not both?" Merle laughed.

"I promise I wasn't ogling your knees." Kravitz made to pat Taako's shoulder. His brain caught up with his hand in mid-trajectory and he jerked, suddenly aware of the intimacy of the act. He diverted to pat Taako's forearm and_ oh no, _ that was so much worse.

Taako raised an eyebrow as Kravitz _ patted??? His arm??? _ “They’re good knees,” he said, slightly nonplussed. On the one hand, Kravitz wasn’t ogling his knees, which, cool. On the other hand, Kravitz wasn’t ogling his knees, which, what the _ fuck? _ How _ dare _.

He picked up his fork—_ his, _ this time. Shrimp Heaven When? Oh, you’d better believe, Shrimp Heaven Now, baby! He took a bite. Perfect. The lemon and garlic balanced just so, yes. He closed his eyes and made a little appreciative sound, which probably wasn’t terribly appropriate, but as someone who knew his way around a kitchen, this was _ excellent _.

Brad coughed delicately. “So Davenport, Kravitz tells me you have quite the taste in liquor?”

"Is this what we're doing for smalltalk instead of discussing the weather?" Davenport quirked a smile. "Because I’m a pilot. I could talk about the weather all day. And we’ve been friends for years, Bradson. You already know everything I like. But I’m gonna show some decorum and _ not _tell the boys here about some of those times we had a few too many."

"Spoilsport," Merle huffed good-naturedly.

Kravitz spent dinner watching Taako out of the corner of his eye and laughing along at the appropriate spots in Brad and Davenport's banter. He pointedly did _ not _covet Taako's fragrant, juicy shrimp, or anything else about his person. One bite at a time, he savored his carne asada—it was good for him to eat red meat that wasn't microwaved ground beef! He should be happy with his choice! Taako wasn't friendly enough with him to share food!—before the waitress whisked the plate away to box up the remainder on his behalf. Reheated, it would make for an excellent lunch while he studied all day Saturday.

By the end of the meal, he'd barely touched his Sauvignon Blanc. Merle went on ahead and ordered another round of margaritas, this time on him.

"I've kinda always wanted to open a place like this of my own," Merle said, gesturing to the room. "Less pink, though. I've been thinking, something more like a beach theme. You know, a place you can come in, slide your shoes off, let your hair down, and kick back."

Davenport cocked a smirk. "Dear, are you about to sound Brad out on 'Merlegaritaville'?"

"I could tell you about the process I went through when setting Far Corners up," Brad said. "What would you be interested to know? Are you at a point where you're searching for investors or retail space, or have you not looked into setting up a business entity?"

Kravitz squeezed his eyes shut. That was it. This was entirely too much conversation he was absurdly bored by, when what he really wanted to do was talk to Taako. He stretched in his seat, popping his neck as he scanned the restaurant.

The room was still overwhelmingly pink and glitzy, though it had gradually been filling up. The packed bar was lit in neon, paper lanterns hung from hooks overhead, and there were enough mirrors to be disorienting. Kravitz spotted what looked like a wide open doorway in the mirror behind the bar, leading to a space that was markedly less crowded. "What's that?" he whispered under Brad's cheerful description of LLCs, nudging Taako.

“What, back...? Oh yeah, there’s pool tables back there,” Taako answered, blinking to clear the slight glaze over his eyes from listening to Brad. The man sure could _ talk _, and about the driest stuff too, gods.

He fixed Kravitz with a curious smirk. “What, don’t tell me you’re triple majoring in violin, hard stares, and pool? ‘Cause we go in there and I’ll leave with your shoes, tell you that much.”

"I'd like to see you try," Kravitz shot back. "It wouldn't be my first go-round on the felt, you know." He rose from his seat. From this vantage he could see the room properly. There was a beaded curtain pulled back and secured to the wall, and beyond that a pool table that looked grey under the magenta lighting, and a handful of dark arcade machines that may or may not be operable.

Most importantly, the room was relatively private. The nearest full booth was around the corner from the doorway, and the only people inside seemed to be headed out to the back patio for a smoke. Kravitz snagged his wine glass and held a hand out for Taako. "Care to join me?"

“Heck yeah, better than Small Business Law 101 over here, let’s do it,” Taako answered, taking the hand. Merle shot him a wink and elbowed Davenport. Taako and Davenport rolled their eyes in tandem, while Brad powered on with his explanation of business liability.

Taako picked up his glass too—no sense wasting good wine—and led the way over to the pool table “So you’re a pool shark. Who knew, man, maybe you’ll give me a challenge.” He looked down a Kravitz’s feet. “My usual bet is shoes.”

"I'm sorry, I need a moment to wrap my head around the revelation that you have a _ usual bet. _" Kravitz put his glass down on one of the inert arcade machines.

The pool table didn't look quarter-operated. There was a tidy rack of worn cues on the wall, and the balls were stacked in a box on the floor. He hefted this to the border of the felt. "And it's shoes, of all things? Why any stakes, for pool? It's hardly proper gambling."

Taako took his time selecting a cue. “Two reasons: twin sister, and I don’t want your money.” He settled on a cue and walked over to the table. “I just wanna punish you for losing,” he said with that curious smirk returning.

It was probably just as well that Taako didn't want money. Kravitz hadn't any to give. But his cocky assuredness rankled, despite how the way that Taako said _ punished _sent an electric thrill up his spine.

"Did you take your sister's shoes, Taako?" he asked with good humor. "Is this a gambit you pull? I have a hard time picturing Lup losing at anything." He started racking the balls, struggling to remember whether it was house or official rules that they had to alternate solid and striped.

“How do you think she got so good? Some of those shoes I won back,” Taako said. He hadn’t played recently, truth be told, but he was sure he could put Kravitz in his place. “You wanna break, my dude?”

"Well, I haven't picked a cue," Kravitz said, rolling the rack back and forth to tighten the balls. He lifted the rack and stepped away, gesturing with a flourish. "You can go on ahead while I make my selection."

Taako took the cue ball from him and stepped up to position it on the felt. He leaned his cue against the table and cracked his knuckles. “Oh, you wanna see how it’s done?”

He lined up the cue, bending low, and took his shot. The balls ricocheted around the table and one rolled into the far left corner pocket. “Stripes,” Taako announced.

"Well, keep going, I'm hardly impressed yet," Kravitz said. He pored over the cues. Gingerly, he selected one of the longer ones. "These are smaller than I remember."

Taako arched an eyebrow. “That gonna make a difference to you? I prefer to rely on _ skill _.”

He walked around the table, choosing his next shot. He leaned forward, sinking another ball before missing his third shot, the ball glancing off the side of the pocket.

Kravitz stepped up to the table. He tested the balance of his cue stick between his thumb and forefinger. His hands were so much larger than they'd been the last time he played this, and he was something like a foot taller. His muscle memory was amnesiac.

"How did you learn to play, anyway?” he asked. “Do you and Lup do a lot of bar hopping, or is that competitive streak from being in some sort of club?" He carefully aimed for the solid six-ball and managed to sink it.

Taako chuckled as he watched Kravitz balance his cue stick for a second shot. “I’d say it kept us off the streets, but it didn’t, let’s be real. Just something to do, something to get thoroughly underestimated at, you know. Nobody expects a kid to beat their ass at pool. How about you, this a frat activity or is there some sort of underground pool hall for secret...Dorian Gray types, or whatever’s going on here?”

Kravitz wanted to acknowledge the comment about being on the streets. This was something he'd suspected, but T_sizzle had always danced around the topic. And what was Kravitz to do, as Taako's manager? It would be invasive of him to pry.

Taako, who so badly needed a confidante, who deserved acceptance and love, wouldn't welcome commiseration from _ him _. And Kravitz would rather eat his shoes than risk making him uncomfortable.

He wet his lips. "I learned while I was in foster care." Turning his face downwards, he focused on the tip of his cue. "One summer, I was placed in the Cleeses's home. I liked them. They had a pool table in their basement. Their grandchildren visited for most of July, and we played nearly every day. I ran into the eldest—Terri, she was our babysitter, she's the one who taught us—a few times after that. Probably all of them were there for the Cleeses's funerals, but she's the only one I remember seeing."

Taako regarded the top of Kravitz’s head. Huh. Really? Interesting. How the fuck did they make it this far without him realizing that Kravitz didn’t have parents around either? Dude was puckered up tighter than a lemon’s asshole. Guess the three sips of that Sauvignon Blanc put him in a chatty mood.

The cue ball spun across the surface of the solid-three Kravitz was aiming for and whizzed off into a pocket. "Apparently, Terri wasn’t that great of a teacher," Kravitz mused, trying to lighten the mood. He retrieved the ball and handed it over to Taako. "Here, you can have this back."

Taako took the ball and turned it over in his hand. “You know, same sitch,” he said finally. “Mostly with an aunt, a few before her. I guess she wasn’t...ready? I mean who the fuck is, though, y’know?”

Kravitz nodded soberly. “Asking a person to commit to raising someone else’s kid is...a difficult proposition. I was lucky to have as much support as I did. Even if it wasn’t enough to make me good at pool.”

That joke twisted an ankle on the landing, but Taako laughed anyway. “You shoulda tried my teacher, their name was ‘watch the others play til you got it down, then give it a stab’. There were usually a handful of folks playing at this community center we’d hang out in when it was hot.”

Low-budget community centers always smelled like chlorine and feet. The swimming pool was the real reason to be there, but they wouldn’t let Lup into the right locker room, so Taako stayed out of the water in solidarity. Ruling the game room meant that they got dibs on the comfy seats for those days they brought library books to read, so it worked out alright.

Besides, how else were they supposed to get new shoes? Kids grew out of the damn things so fast, he and Lup were going through nearly two pairs each every year. That’s way more money than anyone wanted to spend on them.

Taako placed the cue ball down and lined up his shot, then sent another striped ball into the side pocket. “What size are my new shoes I’m gonna have, by the way? Just for planning purposes.”

"I have no idea what my shoe size is, Taako." Kravitz rolled his eyes, fondly exasperated. "Do I seem like the kind of man who goes shoe shopping? Do you imagine me as having a West Elm rack of the fanciest brogues in my walk-up?"

“Dude, there’s a number written on ‘em, just give it a little peek there,” Taako snorted.

"I can say with certainty that the little number wore off before the latest presidential administration was woefully elected," Kravitz said. "Take care to miss your next shot, please. These are my favorites and I shan't let you have them."

Taako wasn’t gonna take the man’s shoes for real, aside from a few humiliating moments. Eyeballing them, they looked about a size and a half too big, anyhow. But he did take a second look at them. Kravitz’s black, plain-toe Oxfords weren’t dirty by any means, but well-worn certainly. Taako didn’t recall seeing him in other shoes, not that he’d paid attention.

“Oh, you _ shan’t? _ You may not have a choice, might come down to my mercy, my dude,” Taako taunted. He took the shot, handily sinking the ball with a confident twitch of his hips.

Kravitz leaned on the opposite rail and grinned. "Is that how you respond to the plaintive cries of all your victims? Tell me about your collection of pilfered shoes. I'm trying to gauge how badly I'm in over my head."

“Pssssshhh,” Taako replied. “‘The plaintive cries of my victims?’ What do you think I am, some kind of sexy shoes bandit, preying on innocent boys in pool halls? ‘Cause you’d be right, I have a million pairs.” He gestured dramatically with his free hand, laughing. “A whole closet of shoes, won playing pool.”

"I can't even tell if you're joking. But let's be real, do you mean mostly flip-flops and worn sliders? Crocs, perhaps? I've seen what people around here wear, and not everyone has my style," Kravitz bantered. Not that he thought his shoes were impressive. He was mostly attached to them because they were a Candlenights present, so he’d have something nice to wear to temple.

“Okay, so...so yeah, a bunch of ‘em are flip-flops,” Taako admitted. “And the crocs were deffo Merle’s, he knows better than to come over here. And there’s maybe a handful shy of a million, _ but _I’m still gonna win yours, is the point.” He winked.

This was slightly weird, but actually pretty fun? Kravitz wasn’t a terrible pool player, maybe a bit out of practice, but solid. And he was funny! He was never funny at work, Taako wouldn’t have guessed in a million years. Krav had a dry, kind of British, old-person humor that was _ wild _to find in a twenty-something from the west coast.

"Ah, adding variety to your collection. I would approve, but well, they're _ mine _," Kravitz retorted. He nervously watched as ball after ball disappeared into the pockets. Taako hadn't missed a shot in a while. Would he even have another turn? "You know, typically competitive matches go for multiple rounds. You can't say you've won until you've managed it more than once."

Taako looked up and grinned. “Oh, nervous, huh? You should be!” He promptly missed his shot. “Dammit,” he muttered.

Kravitz stepped up with his cue stick. Of course he was nervous, with Taako grinning up at him like that. He was unfairly beautiful. The pink lighting seemed made to highlight the contours of his face, catch in his hair and set his canny eyes sparkling.

He shook his head and walked around the table to line up the cue ball. "I never did agree to bet my shoes, you know. I've simply been playing along with your assumption."

Taako laughed. Oh, this boy was tricky. “Aw, come on now,” he teased. “You really gonna back out? Just no risk tolerance, huh?”

The cue ball pinged off the side of one of his balls. Kravitz held his breath and watched as the solid four slowly spun off into a pocket, then straightened up and flashed a grin. "That's hardly it. I'll have you know that I love a good bet. This just isn't my game, and I hadn't planned on losing my shoes tonight. I'll wager my shoes on best...six of nine."

Taako burst out laughing. “Six of nine? _ Nice. _ But they’ve gotta close sometime, my dude! How about best two out of three? Math works out the same anyway.”

Kravitz lined up his next shot. "Would you _ like _to go back to our group at the table, then? I could be persuaded. Brad's explanation of operating versus capital expenses was absolutely riveting, and I thought Merle's interjected fart jokes added some priceless humor. If we're lucky, maybe they'll still be talking about zoning and city permits when we return. We could catch the tail end."

“Gods, no, better go best three out of five _ minimum _,” Taako snorted. “I’m a chef, not a business boy. If a restaurant’s in the future I’m gonna need me a partner to handle that shit.”

Why was...why was it hot when Kravitz leaned over the table and made sarcastic comments? Maybe because he usually wrinkled his nose at everything, instead of pulling the stick out of his ass and letting it rip. When his brand of asshole behavior wasn’t leveled at Taako, he felt like a kindred spirit.

That was a wild thought. Anyway. Taako gripped his cue. It was a _ really _ridiculous thought, considering the way he’d been swinging between the two opposing ideas of “smack this guy” and “grab his ass” tonight. He was seriously getting some wires crossed vis-à-vis how much he liked the guy he needed to put squarely in his mental box for ‘coworkers’.

Oblivious to the tectonic shifts of Taako’s inner life, Kravitz chewed his lip and focused on the table. He had no idea how he was going to sink another ball. The eight ball was nestled right up next to two of his,_ thanks Taako, _ discomfitingly close to the rail. The rest were flanked by striped balls; he was out of easy shots. "I'll take best three of five. But what do I get if I win? Maybe you could tell me about your future restaurant plans?"

Taako averted his gaze. “I don’t...they’re nothing solid. Just the beginnings of a thought, for way down the line,” he answered, in a way he thought might sound dismissive.

He took a breath and collected himself, mustering the bravado to continue. “Baby steps, right? Any more than that, you’ll have to earn.” He quirked an eyebrow at how the remaining balls were laid. Yeah, good luck making another shot. “You can try, anyway.”

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to pry," Kravitz replied. Predictably, he was too cautious on his next shot, and the ball he'd tried to pocket stopped short. He stepped back to cede the table to Taako.

This could be going better. Kravitz had forgotten how guarded Taako could be; he hadn't earned his insight honestly. He held all the cards, but how was he to cultivate a rapport when he couldn't show his hand without throwing the game?

Taako stepped up to the table. “It’s not that it’s prying, can’t just _ give _ you the prize though,” he said lightly. “Where’s the fun in that? Gotta make you _ earn _it.”

He took aim and sank a ball into the far corner pocket, bouncing it off the eight ball and breaking up the little cluster.

"That's more than fair." Kravitz reproachfully watched the balls all jump to Taako's command. He only had a couple left before he could pocket the eight. "What if I offered a question for a question? With veto power, of course, for uncomfortable topics."

No sooner did those words leave his lips than his heart nearly jumped out after them. He was actively concealing a key issue of immense concern to Taako, so he submitted himself for questioning?

May the lady help this idiot son. He'd been swept up by the flow of conversation. This was going to be the worst bet he'd ever made, and he lost at online poker regularly.

Taako met Kravitz’s eyes, raising his head as he lined up what could be his winning shot. “Question for question sounds fair.”

He took the shot, barely missing and sending the cue ball ricocheting off the rail and back in Kravitz’s direction. “Gods dammit. Okay, you answer first. You got another job, or just the shop?”

Kravitz muffled a sigh of relief. "Just the shop, at the moment. Expect Brad to strongarm me into working more hours any day now," he said, to avoid qualifying that he was a student. Off to a great start on the honesty thing. "You know, I guess I sort of envisioned more of a...an existential bent to these questions? I'm trying to think of something less banal than turning around and asking you how you spend your time, when we both know the answer to that is 'working too many hours'."

Taako shrugged. “What can I say, lotta hungry people to feed. Everyone wants a taste. Gods, are you gonna ask me what person living or dead I wanna eat lunch with, is that what this is, Assistant Manager?”

Kravitz bent over the rail, sizing up the miracles he'd have to work to pull off a win. The eight ball was between one of his and the nearest pocket. Taunting him. "Yes, that question. Let's pretend I thought of it. Navigating this minefield is exhausting my mental fortitude, sorry."

He hoped it sounded like he meant the pool table. He didn't mean the pool table.

Taako laughed and rolled his eyes. What a dork. “Hmmm, prolly, I dunno, people always expect you to say Gandhi or some shit, but prolly the answer’s more like David Bowie or someone.” He shrugged.

Kravitz's face lit up. "David Bowie? Yes, yes, absolutely. I grew up on _ The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spi— _Er. You know, his. Sci-fi rock opera.” He tried to tamp down his enthusiasm to socially-acceptable levels. Utterly nerding out on poor Taako would serve no purpose beyond guaranteeing immediate embarrassment. “If you've heard of it, I mean. Anyway, which of his albums have you enjoyed?"

Taako was giving him a bewildered look with his ears straight up in the air. He hadn’t expected that at all. Who knew Opera Guy over here would just, fucking get his favorite David Bowie album in one? Alright.

He wheezed a laugh. Kravitz had been making him laugh so much tonight. “‘If I’ve heard of it?’ My aunt used to play it all the time; it was my favorite. Dude was way ahead of his time, like...I don’t know, sense of self, was off the charts. I kinda drifted off to pop-punk and all kinds of stuff genre-wise but I’ll always have a big soft spot.”

Buckwild. Taako’s mouth opened of its own accord and he continued, “If I hadn’t seen someone like him in the world when I was tiny like that, could you imagine? I might be_ boring! _”

"You're far from boring," Kravitz said emphatically. He felt like an ass for ever judging Taako's professionalism based on his looks. Why couldn't he have just admitted that Taako was so attractive it scared him?

Taako giggled nervously. Well, that was too much like honesty hour, time to reel that on in, right now, immediately. “Guess that makes it my turn. _ What do you consider your greatest strength, Mr. Kravitz? _” he said in a joking impression of Brad’s voice.

Kravitz rolled his eyes. "I have to say, the only context in which I've been asked that particular question is a job interview. With Brad. I told him I was 'punctual' and I 'loved working with the public'."

He finally, finally took a shot. The cue ball came within a hair's breadth of following his target into a pocket. Breathing a sigh of relief, he skirted past Taako to circle the table and line up his next play.

Taako laughed. “Okay, yeah, like I told Brad I was an ‘enthusiastic team player’, so I get it. Like I _ can _ work in a team, I _ guess _.”

He looked over the table. Kravtiz wasn’t exactly making a comeback, per se; he never was too far behind. He was making a few solid shots though, enough to bring them closer to even. Not bad.

"I think we make a good team," Kravitz said quietly. He took his shot. His target spun against the eight ball and sent it ping-ponging off the rail. He winced as it dropped into a pocket. "Well, fuck me I guess."

“Yuuuuup, there we go,” Taako crowed, not registering the first thing Kravitz had said. “Let’s have those shoes, my dude.”

He made a grabby gesture, right as he realized— Wait, hold on? Kravitz thought they made a good team? At...what, at work? Pool?

They didn’t...work badly together, except when they fought. As long as they didn’t fight, it was...fine, actually. More than fine. Pretty good, really.

So Taako had won. Pool, and shoes. Did he win the weird workplace war? Was that what Kravitz meant? That had to be it.

"Hey, the deal was best three out of five!" Kravitz danced back from Taako and folded his arms. "You're not getting these that easily. Besides, it's been less than twenty minutes. I only just remembered my drink. Come on now, another round?"

“All right then, if you insist on prolonging your misery,” Taako taunted.

Evidently Kravitz did. Taako won the next two games in a row, with Kravitz fumbling Taako’s balls into the pockets in the second round and seeming to warm up in the third, before Taako narrowly managed to get his last ball in with only two of Kravitz’s remaining.

Taako carried his prize back to the table. A forlorn Kravitz shuffled a few steps behind with an empty wine glass in hand, the contents of which had done nothing to salve his pride.

“Hey guys,” Taako said, dropping the shoes onto the table with a thud and reclining into his seat.

Merle looked from the Oxfords up to Taako's smug face and hooted. "Another one bites the dust!" He grinned at Kravitz, who sat down with a wince. The restaurant's floor was ever so slightly sticky in a deeply unpleasant way, and Kravitz wished he could've gone the rest of his life without discovering this.

"Congratulations on another win, Taako," Davenport said, raising his margarita glass. "And this is why I won't play you anymore."

"I'll consider myself warned off," Brad said with humor in his voice.

“Thank you, thank you,” Taako replied airily. “They don’t call me the Glass Pool Shark for nothing.”

Brad laughed and stuck a pen back into the folder with the check. “This was fun, gentlemen, we’ll have to do it again sometime.”

Davenport stood up. “You ready?” he asked Merle.

“Yup, good to go,” Merle confirmed.

Kravitz had not thought things through to this moment. In his mind, shoes had been an acceptable price to pay for Taako's company, earned under pretense as it was. But now the night was over and he had to make his way home. In his socks. On the bus.

Davenport must have noticed the face he pulled. "How were you planning to get home, Kravitz?"

"Well..."

“You could ride with us,” Merle said, nudging Davenport conspiratorially. “There’s plenty of room in the back seat with Taako.”

Godsdammit, it looked like Merle wasn’t gonna let his weird ideas go. Taako rolled his eyes. “Yeah, there’s room,” he agreed.

Kravitz was already nodding. He was eager to get as much more time with Taako as possible, before he was left alone with his guilt and regrets. "I would greatly appreciate it. I don’t think my socks would survive public transportation."

Davenport coughed pointedly. "Speaking of, we should probably get going before anyone notices all this," he said, waving to the shoes on the table. "Not to mention that I'd still like to get up early." He turned and hugged Brad—a feat that required him to stand on his tiptoes, and Brad to bend nearly in two. "Thanks for arranging this. I'm glad we got to catch up."

"So am I," Brad said, releasing Davenport and hugging Merle in turn. "We just filled two essential positions at my firm. I look forward to having a little more free time to do things like this. Especially if I can find another person for Far Corners."

They parted in the parking lot. Kravitz stood blinking as Brad's truck pulled away. The street lights were surreally bright after how dim and pink the restaurant had been. He wandered over towards Taako, trying to ignore what the asphalt felt like under his feet. He didn't want to think about what he was stepping on. "So, um... Back seat?"

"Back seat," Davenport confirmed. "Go on, we're ready to leave. I finished my last drink something like two hours ago. You guys were playing pool for a _ while _."

"Cool, yeah, I still got the tunes," Taako said, clambering in. He waited for his phone to reconnect after Davenport started the car. "In addition to my sparkling personality, these two also get the gift of my stellar musical taste when I ride in their car," he explained to Kravitz.

Merle snorted. "You mean you bully your way into the car and take over the radio.”

"That's exactly what I mean, and you love me for it," Taako said breezily. He punched a song and the car filled with voices harmonizing.

Davenport rolled his eyes. “We love you, but also we _ put up _with you,” he teased.

Taako laughed. “That sounds like jealousy over my amazing taste, but really I don’t blame you.”

This wasn't the music Kravitz expected Taako to pick. The track was from a concept album nearly a decade old, and it wasn't even a single. Taako seemed like a pop guy, but not an experimental-symphonic-pop kind of guy.

It was a _ lot _for a car ride. Kravitz hadn't properly appreciated this album when it came out. Now he could discern the choral and orchestral elements supporting what he was pretty sure was a punk band. There were so many harmonies that he didn't know where to start picking them apart. He was so enthralled that he barely watched where he was putting his feet as he scooted in next to Taako.

Taako nudged Kravitz, grinning to see his fingers tapping to the beat. “You don’t hear this guy complaining, do ya?”

Merle laughed and twisted in his seat to face them, catching Kravitz with his hand in mid-swing. "Maestro looks like he's conducting a full orchestra there. The song's not that good, buddy!"

Kravitz froze. "The orchestral elements are _ very _good," he said in an offended huff, and dropped his hands to his lap.

"The song's like six freaking minutes! After the fifth time he plays this horseshit, you'll be sick of it too."

Taako gasped in mock offense. “‘Horseshit?’ How dare! Dav, back me up here.”

Davenport shook his head. “You’re on your own, Taako,” he said good-humoredly.

Taako turned to Kravitz and jerked his head towards the two in the front seat. “You see what I put up with? All day every day.”

"I think it's very lucky you have such good friends," Kravitz said.

"Listen to this boy scout here," Merle said with a chuckle. "What kind of nerd are you anyway? Music? Dav said you were a student."

Kravitz's throat made a noise like an asthmatic crow. When he finally got enough air to answer, his voice came out several octaves too high. "_ Yes _."

Davenport bought him several seconds by starting the car. After the engine quieted, Kravitz continued in a rush. "I've wanted to be a conductor since I was a kid but it's highly competitive and I'm unsure of my career path and I suppose I'm just figuring things out. You know."

T_sizzle knew he was a composition major. He couldn't remember if he'd ever shared that his end goal was conducting. He couldn't remember what he'd told Barry in front of Taako. The entire world was as fragile as a vase sliding off a pedestal to concrete below and _ Taako might have him figured out. _ He could die. Dying, in fact, was probably the only way to escape from this moving vehicle before he was strangled by his web of lies.

Taako was watching Kravitz thoughtfully, crossing his legs as he settled to lean against the car door.

A music student. Huh. Wonder what school. Maybe Kravitz and Trautonium_Corvid were classmates? Taako nodded. "My boyfriend's a musician, he says it's rough out there.”

"Oh, a boyfriend? That I'm only just now hearing about? And we're meeting this young man _ when? _" Merle asked, turning in his seat.

"How about you meet him after you've learned to appreciate good music so you don't embarrass yourself, old man," Taako shot back. It wasn't like Taako had even met him yet, but Merle didn't need to know that.

"There's nothing wrong with my taste in music! Kenny Chesney and Jimmy Buffet, that's all you need." Merle grinned at Kravitz, clearly attempting to needle him.

Kravitz did not give one shit. The earth had stopped spinning the second he heard himself—no, Trautonium_Corvid—described publicly as Taako's boyfriend. Like their relationship was something real, not just a diversion in Taako’s online life. He hadn't known—how could he have realized?—how long has Taako felt that—

He fucked up. There was nothing he could say, not trapped in a car with Davenport and Merle. He wouldn't put Taako through such an ill-timed revelation. But his heart was bursting with guilt. Every selfish action he'd taken to cover his own ass made him the world's worst boyfriend. He hadn’t earned the appellation. Taako deserved so much better.

It was awful, being knee-to-knee with someone and yet stranded across a chasm of misapprehension. Kravitz owed Taako every expression of gratitude that crossed his mind. He needed to be home, now, so he could send him a message. He needed to come clean.

He needed to have, retroactively, not betrayed Taako's confidence. Hindsight was twenty-twenty.

Kravitz swore that there would be no more dodging dates. No more excuses to avoid meeting Taako face-to-face as Trautonium_Corvid. He would not put Taako through the pain of suffering an avoidant, dishonest, sleaze of a boyfriend. It was past time to lay all his chips on the table.

And let come what may. If there was even a glimmer of a chance that things could work out to give them more evenings like this one, Kravitz would stake everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **RQ:** He's going the wrong way!
> 
> **Istus:** And it should be such a simple path. This is why you gave him the ability to create portals at his discretion, isn't it.
> 
> **RQ:** The restaurant is in the other direction! I knew it, he's completely lost without me.
> 
> **Istus:** Dear, can you take it on faith when I assure you that things will be alright? I am the authority on such matters.
> 
> **RQ:** But he's just so stupid.
> 
> **Istus:** And mine can be as well. I think it works out nicely. Now, watch.
> 
> **RQ:** Oh, a crocheted rainbow. Subtle. I suppose you think you're clever. Well, you're right.
> 
> **Istus:** Historically, how well has your reaper done with 'subtle'?
> 
> **RQ:** I concede the point. But now, what has Pan been saying to Merle?!
> 
> **Istus:** Don't worry about it. Everything is going against all plans. This tapestry is a mess, but it will be beautiful.
> 
> *
> 
> Stealth selected Taako's choice of music for that car ride. [Ever After by Marianas Trench.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkaMCFp4x38) I didn't get it until I looked up the lyrics, and then I died laughing.


	21. Troubled Thoughts/self esteem to match

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako’s whole soft side is out in the open, just waiting for a dramatic confession...anyone wanna do a dramatic confession? Anyone?

Taako hip-bumped his door closed behind him. He pulled out his phone distractedly. Lup worked Friday nights, so their apartment was quiet, especially after the noise of the restaurant.

Quiet and kind of lonely. Without bothering to turn on a light, he flopped down on the couch. He shoved pillows out of his way and flipped onto his back. He could probably crash movie night at the Burnsides's, or whatever old man evening Dav and Merle were starting upstairs, but in both cases he’d be third wheeling. Hanging with Lup and her new beau filled him up on that.

Trautonium_Corvid  
  
Hey babe, I'm home, whatcha up to? (Face Throwing A Kiss )   
  
Would you believe I was drafting a message to you? I've been trying to figure out how to ask   
  
What's your day like tomorrow? I was wondering, would it be alright for us to plan something together? I apologize for the short notice.   
  


Taako read over the message once, twice. Shit, he’d committed to helping Ango schlep Grandpa McDonald to some Shabbat potluck lunch thing at their temple, and then after that the kid needed advice on early application stuff for college.

Plus, how would it be in any way classy to be that fucking available? Not even 24 hours notice? No, no, no… Taako switched to his text messages. **Hey Ango, gonna have to take a raincheck on tomorrow, something came up**

_No,_ godsdammit. It wouldn’t be cool to make the kid deal with his grandpa alone. He erased the text and switched back to Grindr.

Tomorrow’s no good, I told this kid I know I’d help him with a thing at his temple. Can’t reschedule that   
  
I didn’t know you ever went to Angus’s temple with him.   
  
Hey hombre, remind me of when I mentioned the kid by name?   
  


Little dancing dots showed TC typing for a million freaking years. Taako yawned and rolled off the couch for a glass of water to wash out the sour wine aftertaste. It was an innocent question, sheesh. TC could get worked up about the strangest things.

He kind of liked that. TC was always so _careful_ about what he said. Like he was deliberately trying to be good, like he cared. It made the times he let his guard down and goofed all the more special.

You must have told me his name once, but I can’t remember. I’m sorry.   
  
Lol don’t worry about it my man. How about next Saturday? I'm free then (Grinning Face With Smiling Eyes )   
  
Yes   
  
Next Saturday is fine   
  
It would just be great to see you   
  


Taako did a little dance right on the kitchen tile. TC wanted to see him! That was exciting, and gods, let it really happen this time. This past week had been a rough fuckin’ ride.

I really wanna see you too. We can definitely hang   
  
I've been thinking a lot about how difficult it is to get to know each other   
  
I think it’ll be easier in person, but it is hard. Like trust is hard, yanno? But I trust you, we’ll get there   
  
That's what I want too. I want to earn that trust. I know how precious that is for you, and how seldom you bestow it.   
  
I guess some of my anxiety comes from the idea that deceit is inevitable, over anonymous platforms such as this one. We're both presenting idealized versions of ourselves—me moreso than you, perhaps.   
  
Moreover, I'm able to filter the information you receive. You don't know whether I have an obnoxious laugh, or if I'm mean-spirited. You have no way of telling if I'm unkind to small children and animals. Maybe I have atrocious personal hygiene.   
  
I have no problem with the notion that abridged versions of ourselves are a product of this medium. I don't begrudge you picking and choosing what to share with me for an instant. I think that's good and natural, and who am I to deny you that agency?   
  
But, lately... I feel consumed by my own dishonesty, you could say. You deserve a chance to judge me fully.   
  
At the same time, I'm terrified of being found wanting   
  


Taako read the messages, thumbs hovering over the screen. What was the man hiding to act this way? Surely nothing too bad, right? He clearly could be sweet and charming, all he had to do was keep it up. Whatever his bad habits were, they had to be tolerable.

He had standards, but he also had to be realistic, here. Taako was a catch. Taako was also a lonely elf who was afraid no one else would have him.

Oh gods, babe, are you a juggler? You have to tell me legally (Face With Tears Of Joy )   
  
Hah, no. It's worse than that.   
  
I'm a broke music student. Think of the shittiest apartment you've ever seen. Perhaps like those frathouses south of campus. Take away the grime, add a forest fire's worth of paper, and that's how I live.   
  
And then, factor in the insufferable stuffiness and pedantry of a student of the classical arts. I own more sheet music than silverware. Actual printed sheet music, because I don't have a tablet computer like so many of my peers.   
  


Pffffft. Couldn’t be worse than Kravitz’s apartment. When Dav dropped him off, Taako raced out of the car to give his shoes back. He got a peek at the living room in between wheezing laughter at Kravitz’s shock. You’d think no one had ever pranked him before.

TC being a broke music student was okay, Taako was only barely not a broke culinary student. It wasn’t a big deal. Someday, fate willing, neither of them would be those things. He’d been working damn hard to get to a better place. He wanted to see where TC ended up too.

Seeing Kravitz’s had reminded him of some of the tough spots he and Lup had been in. Livable, but only just. He didn’t want to go back, but he wasn’t too good for it either, just on the other side of a thin thread of luck and hard work.

Taako finished his water and went over to the fridge. Hanging on it was the sheet of paper that had followed the twins from home to home for years now. Every goal and every want, scribbled down chaotically in two sets of handwriting, littered with check marks and strikethroughs as life did what life does:

** <s>Culinary school—T</s>  
  
Our own place (Heavy Check Mark )  
  
Bed frames (Heavy Check Mark )  
  
Our own rooms (Heavy Check Mark )  
  
Mortuary school—L  
  
Couch (Heavy Check Mark )  
  
A DECENT partner—L (Heavy Check Mark )(Heavy Check Mark )(Two Hearts )  
  
TV stand (not boxes) (Heavy Check Mark )  
  
Full time job—T (Heavy Check Mark )  
**  


He picked up a pen and wrote in, small and hesitant, but there:

**True love—T**

He didn’t check it or cross it out. Not yet. But having the audacity to ask for it was something.

Oof, I’ve seen some shitty ones, lived in a few   
  
Dropped my coworker off after a work thing tonight and this poor dude   
  
Like thumbtack curtains, crate shelves, the whole thing. It’s just like that when you’re starting out I guess   
  
But it doesn’t last forever at least   
  
I hope not. For my part, I had a plan in the eventuality that I was ever able to host you.   
  
I was going to corral all the papers into binders, the binders into boxes, and stack said boxes against the wall. Sort of like a flammable avant-garde sculpture. Once you factor in the tuition cost for receiving said papers, you could estimate its worth at thousands of dollars.   
  
Damn right those papers cost a fortune, they get to be weird art now   
  
Maybe I can borrow a horrifying mannequin head to set on top, I know a gal (Face With Tears Of Joy )   
  
I still would like to invite you over someday. My bedroom, at least, has real furniture. Let me know if I'm overstepping, but I would say my bed is quite comfortable.   
  
I hope I can make that bed way more than comfortable (Smirking Face )   
  
I won't ask you to promise that Saturday will go that well. I'd be thrilled to simply have lunch together.   
  
Let it be known that, should you be repulsed by me in person, I don't feel as if I'm owed anything. I will always hold you in the highest esteem. Frankly, I think you’re amazing. You're hard working, caring, and one of the smartest people I'll ever meet.   
  
Should you decide you want out, I won't ever begrudge you. All I ask is that you let me support you in whatever way you feel comfortable. Even if only as a friendly acquaintance.   
  
If anything happens in bed, I would consider it a bonus. Just knowing you is enough of a gift.   
  


Taako smiled. This sap. This lovesick fool was nervous, awww. And he was trying real hard to make Taako feel comfortable, which was cool of him, considering the riskiness of meeting online.

Awww babe you’re so sweet (Smiling Face With Heart-Shaped Eyes )   
  
I hope it goes well, I doubt I’ll wanna leave at all. You’re talented and you always know what to say. I just hope we can keep a good thing going   
  
Sometimes I’m just too much, you know? I try to tone it down a little but then that makes me look like an asshole, I think, it’s hard to figure   
  
Anyone who thinks you're too much doesn't deserve you. I know you're kind and generous with the people you care about, and I think that's what counts, in the estimation of what makes a good person. Why should you have to temper your spirit to please others?   
  


Why should...? Huh.

Hmmm, yeah. Huh.

I guess I do it so they stick around   
  
And so it doesn’t hurt so bad when they don’t, just protecting myself I guess   
  
But as long as you’re up for the challenge, well (Face Throwing A Kiss )   
  
I think the right people will see who you are and love you for it. It breaks my heart that you've worried about losing people just by being yourself.   
  
I promise, there is no reality in which I reject you. That's not on the table.   
  


Taako blushed a little. That was just...that was so sweet to say? And it calmed his nerves a little, too.

<3 I better keep you close then, you sound like the right person   
  
I’m not interrupting your practice time tho, right? You’re always working so hard   
  
Love, it's almost midnight. I know I can be a workaholic, but even I recognize that it's time to rest now. I have all Saturday to study and practice.   
  


Yeah, but he wouldn’t put it past TC to still be working on something. The guy had _hustle,_ and Taako loved that.

I hope I'm not keeping you awake too late. You should rest too <3   
  
I only just got home like an hour ago   
  
I had a work dinner thing with my boss and coworker and our mutual friends, kind of a weird group but it was fun   
  
Oh remember that coworker I told you about? Totally spanked him at pool, won the guy’s shoes (Grinning Face With Smiling Eyes ) they were too big so I gave em back but not before he rode home in his socks   
  
It was extremely kind of you to give them back at all, since you won them fair and square. It seems like you deeply enjoyed dispensing a lesson on your total superiority at pool.   
  


Taako laughed. That had been the whole point, after all, to win and prove it. It wasn’t about the shoes, it was about the stocking feet, or maybe more accurately about the act of taking the shoes off.

I didn’t want em to keep, I only have one pair of feet   
  
It was pretty sweet watching him undo his laces after the bs at work before tho. Love that (Kissing Face With Smiling Eyes ) (Ok Hand Sign ≊ Ok Hand)   
  
I'm sorry, I was previously unaware of this fetish. I've been blindsided. You have a thing for feet??   
  


Taako laughed so hard he had to go throw himself back down on the couch. _Feet??? Kravitz’s_ feet? Oh no, no, no, that wasn’t what all that was about, but it sure was a hilarious idea.

(Face With Tears Of Joy ) (Face With Tears Of Joy ) (Face With Tears Of Joy ) oh gods no. not for his anyway!   
  
But victory is sweet. And watching him get down there and hand over the shoes? Delicious   
  
Ah, so it's a power kink. Well, alright then. I can work with that. Do you accept displays of obedience in a form other than surrendered shoes?   
  


Taako let out a stifled shriek of laughter. Well it wasn’t _not_ that. Gods, his boy was _funny!_

holy SHIT babe   
  
omfg youre a riot   
  
You know what? Put a pin in that and we can come back to it for sure for sure (Face Throwing A Kiss )   
  
It's a date. I really hope next Saturday goes well.   
  


Taako smiled. It was a date. The other ones fell through but that was just bad luck, this one was gonna be amazing, for sure.

He flipped to hang upside down off the couch, feet over the back and head dangling low. The blood rush couldn’t account for all of the giddy, blushy feeling, though.

He was finally gonna meet Trautonium_Corvid. For real this time. And he was ready to admit to himself what he really wanted out of it, even though it felt alternately childish and slightly terrifying. True love? He almost got up to cross it off the list.

Maybe though. He’d seen that new check mark up there. He hadn’t seen her draw it, but for sure Lup had checked Barry as “a decent partner” within the last couple of weeks since they’d gotten together.

Magnus and Julia had their little homespun-and-woodwork apartment, dog and all. Merle and Dav were happy, even with the stresses of work travel and step-parenting. Maybe ‘true love’ was just as good an umbrella term as any for the common thread they all seemed to have. Why not him, with Trautonium_Corvid?

Of course they’d work together. It was a choice, right? He just had to gamble that TC would choose him too.

Fortunately, Trautonium_Corvid said he liked gambling. Hopefully Taako was a good bet. He’d try to be.

Can’t wait, babe, I’m so excited for it! I’m probably gonna turn in soon, dream of me? (Face Throwing A Kiss )   
  
Always. Every night. <3   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Begin the countdown


	22. So Much Older Than I Can Take/help me out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for a visit from the teen detective! He's been monitoring Kravitz's handling of the situation very carefully, and he has some suggestions.

Monday morning, Kravitz found himself whistling as he rechecked the orders. He hadn't been so relaxed at work since... Well, since Taako started. But the song blaring from the kitchen was catchy enough to forgive the noise level. Taako seemed to be in a good mood, and it was infectious.

Brad apparently had a productive Sunday, because most of a larger-than-usual slate of orders were ready before Kravitz arrived. All he had to do was fill the coolers with perishable goods. He stacked the second such cooler on the boxes by the front window and headed back behind the counter to search for the dolly. Carey always left it in weird spots.

He was just dragging it towards the box tower when he caught sight of Angus clambering out of his awful car. "Hello sir!" Angus mouthed through the window, waving. Kravitz loaded the dolly and wheeled it out, Angus holding the door for him.

"Good morning, Angus," he said cheerfully. "How's your summer vacation going?"

Angus popped his trunk open. "It's good! I wish my grandpa had let me sign up for more classes, but I can't complain, because at least I got to do my favorite. I really love _Principles of Toxicology._ We're making dose response curves right now!"

"Ah, that's... What's that like?"

Angus lifted the first cooler in, allowing Kravitz to start on the boxes underneath. "Well, we planted some radish seeds, and then we treated them with different amounts of sodium laureth sulfate. I get to see how many of them germinated tomorrow!"

"So you can tell what level of exposure is toxic from how many die?"

"Yup, that's basically it." Angus beamed.

"Isn't that chemical... in shampoo?" Kravitz ventured. He leaned into the trunk to shove the boxes closer together. There were so many that they may very well run out of space, and he'd hate for Angus to have to make a second trip.

"Right again! It's a foaming agent and a surfactant. And don't worry, sir, I'm sure lots of the radish seeds will still sprout. And SLS is readily biodegradable, so hopefully we don't have to worry about it accumulating in the oceans from everyone washing their hair!"

Kravitz lined the dolly up for the second box tower. After a weekend spent studying composition, he was well burnt out. Most of what Angus was saying went in one ear and out the other. "That's nice."

"But enough about me, sir." Angus gave him a bright, cheeky smile, and it made his heart quail. That look didn't bode well for him at all. "Tell me about how you and Taako got dinner on Friday!"

Kravitz dropped a box on his foot. He cursed and shook the toe of his boot out while Angus swooped in to stack it on the dolly. "It was a work thing!" he said. "Nothing untoward happened. Nothing exciting at all happened!"

Angus looked at Kravitz strangely. “Of course not sir, why would anything untoward happen? Mr. Highchurch said that you all ate dinner, but some of it didn’t seem to agree with you and made you cough a lot. Do you have a seafood allergy, Mr. Kravitz?”

"Yyyye... No?" Kravitz said. By the lady, he was sweating. This was going to turn into an interrogation, he could sense it. "No, I... Is that _all_ Merle said?" Since when did Angus talk to Merle?

“He also said that Taako beat you at pool and took your shoes. Don’t worry about that though, Mr. Kravitz, he’s very good. I’m sure you gave him a run for his money,” Angus answered, struggling to push the dolly along. He’d sprouted up like a weed in just a couple months, but he hadn’t yet put on muscle mass. “And maybe sometime soon you can beat him at pool, on a date!”

"Actually, yes, I'm pleased to say. I appreciate your forbearance, but you needn't worry for much longer, because— Wait. Did you _tell Merle?"_ Kravitz had puffed out his chest, but that thought knocked the wind out of him. Merle finding out before Taako was a fear he hadn’t guessed he needed to entertain.

That had been foolish, because it was definitely the worst possibility. He shut the shop door behind them. "Angus. Did you tell Merle?!"

Angus shook his head, that cheerful smile fixed in place. He was clearly inured to Kravitz’s anxieties. “No sir, I thought that you had told Merle. He seems to think that you two are a good couple. I think so too; your values are very similar, and that seems to work best for Lup and her partner. So. Have you told Taako yet?”

Kravitz hunched his shoulders. "That's the subject I was seeking to broach. I haven't told him yet, but I recognize the necessity. We’re going to meet on Saturday, and then the mask will finally be off. I tried for this past Saturday, actually— I hadn’t known you had plans together. But, Angus, does Merle know already?!"

“I can’t see any way he would, sir. The only ones who know are you and me, unless he’s also a particularly good detective.” Angus regarded Kravitz for a moment. “You’re really going to tell Taako, right? He deserves to know who’s receiving his messages.”

"Yes, I can't continue this charade any longer." Kravitz took a deep breath and busied himself with the boxes. "It's become...cruel. He deserves better from me. Compared to his needs, whether I get in trouble seems fairly insignificant."

“That’s good news, Mr. Kravitz. I did promise I’d keep your secret so long as you’d tell him yourself. After all, he’s my very good friend, not just my coworker. If you weren’t planning to tell him—“ Angus let the sentence hang with a significant look.

"I swear I've only procrastinated in the hope that I could find the right moment. There's no need for threats." Kravitz set a box in the trunk and swept a hand back over his dreads. "I'll take the plunge. This Saturday. I promise. I just— As someone who knows him well, do you think... Do you think he'll be... receptive? Or rather, _not angry?"_

Angus pursed his lips and stepped back so Kravitz could take another box. “I think he’ll be less angry the sooner he knows. Being able to trust people is important to him, and not very many people earn that trust.”

"I wouldn't blame him if he hated me for this betrayal." Kravitz curled around the box in his arms. "I can't— I've thought about it, but I can't ambush him with this at work, when he'd be stuck here stewing for hours after I left. I have a recital Wednesday night, or else I would ask him about convening then, and Thursday we're working another festival... Should I have tried for tonight? Or Tuesday? It seems kinder to not spring this on him in the middle of the week, when he's always working such long hours..."

“I’d say the sooner the better, sir. I think he might understand if you wanted to make it special, but he won’t much like feeling that he’s just been left in the dark for no reason.” Angus shifted a box just enough to allow Kravitz to tuck the one he held in beside it.

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you for listening to me ramble. I promise that, if I see an earlier opportunity, I'll take it. And that's the last of the boxes," Kravitz said. He pulled the dolly back and shut the trunk.

"That's what friends do, Mr. Kravitz!”

Kravitz smiled at Angus. The boy was incredibly mature for his age. In comparison, he felt like he needed to step up his act.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. If Taako was texting at work, then he must have some downtime to enjoy Angus's visit. "Did you want to pop in on Taako before you leave?"

“I think I will say hello before I head off," Angus answered. He held the door open for Kravitz to push the dolly through, then followed him inside and kept going on into the kitchen.

"Hello sir," he greeted Taako brightly. "How's everything back here?"

Taako started. Kravitz catching him dance-cooking, obviously he was playing with fire on that one but—

“Oh, hey Ango, what’s up?” he said, slightly relieved. The kid had seen him goof around more times than he could count, no worries there, and Kravitz didn’t have line-of-sight on his antics.

“Just thought I’d say hi before I take out the deliveries,” Angus answered as the kitchen door swung shut.

Now there was no use trying to overhear Taako and Angus’s conversation. The pop music was loud enough to garble their words through the closed door—but at least that meant Taako had definitely not caught any of his conversation with Angus, elf ears or no.

Kravitz sat down at the counter and frowned at his phone. Instead of the expected Grindr message, he had an SMS from an unknown number.

hey, what do your afternoons this week look like. it's kind of for a thing.   
  
I'm sorry, who is this? I think you have the wrong number.  
  


This was very odd. Ninety percent of his texts were from the group chat for work or his advisor. Generally speaking, people did not text him.

Before he could unravel this mystery, Kravitz had to attend to an extremely low-maintenance customer, an elf who walked in, grabbed a bottle of wine and two boxes of dried pasta in under twenty seconds, and checked out with no fuss.

As he bid the customer a good day, his phone buzzed again.

Did you lose my number Kravitz?  
  


He was in the middle of typing out an explanation of the last time he had to factory-reset his phone and summarily lose his contacts when a second message came through.

it's Johann. sup. I understand if you lost my number on purpose. but if it wasn't on purpose and you don't mind talking to me, can I ask you something   
  
Yes, of course.  
  


Johann was in the year below him. They'd shared a few classes, after Kravitz's graduation was thrown off schedule by the medical leave he'd been forced to take. Kravitz held him in some esteem; Johann was a clear genius on the violin, definitely far better than Kravitz himself. He salved his ego with the resolution that he didn’t want to become a genius on a single instrument, he wanted a broad understanding of as many as possible so that he could conduct an orchestra someday.

Still, he couldn't help but be jealous. Even as far back as last year, Johann was already being scouted. And his Bandcamp had a few thousand downloads.

So basically I'm in a band. you probably haven't heard of us. The bass and drums are bugbears and they’re rad, but they + keyboard all have dayjobs so we don't get to perform on weeknights much. Capitalism man  
  
I was talking to the prof about how it doesnt keep me busy enough and she floated the idea that maybe I need more people to jam with. That made me think of you. maybe it actually sucked, but that duet we had to do for comp 3 got an A, so maybe it didnt.  
  
Anyway. If youre not busy Tuesday evening, want to do a jam sesh on campus? No pressure. I kind of expect you to say no  
  


Kravitz was a little gobsmacked that Johann remembered him from Composition for New Media III, and then vaguely offended that he thought their duet might have sucked. They killed it. The class applauded. (Well, everyone got applause after their performance, but he was still convinced theirs had been head and shoulders above the rest.)

But why wouldn't Johann choose someone from his cohort? When Kravitz shared classes with them, he'd felt so awkward being around the younger students that he'd withdrawn into his shell. There was little chance he made a good impression. All he could think was that "the prof" was certainly his academic advisor. Maybe she was Johann's as well. She could have recommended him.

That actually sounds great. I have a practice room after hours on weeknights, from 8-930. Would that serve us well? Or would you like to meet earlier?  
  
earlier is better man. well never make the charts if we dont put the work in, you feel me  
  
This is kind of dumb for a newb like me to say but I refuse to die in obscurity  
  


Kravitz grinned. He'd forgotten why he liked Johann. Despite his general... demeanor... he was dedicated. And Kravitz could appreciate that.

Works for me. My last class ends at 5  
  
okay cool. I'll see you then   
  


In the kitchen, Taako swept a whole mess of pitted and sliced olives for the salad he was working on into a deli pan. Angus sat out of the way on the counter by the door, gently swinging his feet. “You _would_ love that nerd shit,” Taako said. “Can’t believe you guys are ruining perfectly good radishes. Sounds like you’ve got a lot going on, you sure we aren’t overworking you yet? We had a shitload of orders.”

Angus laughed. “Not yet, sir. It’s just one community college class, and I’m glad to have the work to save for my university education. Thanks again for helping me with my applications, I’m sure you had other things you could’ve done with your day off. It means a lot to me.”

Awww. That was sweet. He was happy to help Angus, the kid deserved a good start in life. Plus, college applications, especially the financial parts, were deliberately confusing. Apparently Davenport had been pissed as hell after how much bullshit he’d had to wade through to help Mavis out, he gave Lup a whole rant about it last week.

Taako waved his hand dismissively. “Gotta get it done if you want those sweet academic credentials, even if I’m pretty sure they’re tryna pull a fast one with some of those questions.”

Angus sighed. “That’s probably true. By the way, did you have fun going out with Mr. Kravitz on Friday?”

“Yeah, I— Wait, Ango, I didn’t go _out_-out with Kravitz, it was a work dinner,” Taako clarified hastily. “Brad took us out with Merle and Dav.”

“But you and Mr. Kravitz are doing better now, aren’t you? It could be fun to eat dinner together again,” Angus said innocently.

Barely a second later, Kravitz poked his head in through the kitchen door. "Angus, forgive me for any paranoia, but did you lock your car up?"

Taako froze. No way was he letting Ango grill him on how buddy-buddy he was with Kravitz in front of Kravitz. That would be fuckin’ mortifying. He did not need a teenager telling him to hold hands and sing kumbaya, and he extra didn’t need a magnifying glass on his emotions. He was working through them at his own pace, thanks.

Angus turned that same innocent smile on Kravitz without batting an eyelash. “No worries, Mr. Kravitz, it’s locked.”

"I assumed as much, but I thought I'd check in." And, with no customers in the shop, no appetite for studying further, and the awareness that T_sizzle was occupied, Kravitz had few other avenues for entertainment. Sue him for wanting company.

“I just figured I might talk to Taako for a few minutes,” Angus said. He gave a look that Kravitz interpreted as sympathetic. But, having known this kid since he was in a booster seat, Taako recognized Angus’s mischief expression with dawning horror.

Oblivious to this, Kravitz blithely asked, "If it's not too bothersome of a question, how did you two become friends?"

It was glaringly obvious that Taako and Angus were very close, and Kravitz had been wondering how that happened. Between Taako's general background, Angus's unfettered nerdery, and what was at least a ten-year age difference, Kravitz couldn't imagine them crossing paths in daily life.

The question threw Taako. “I used to babysit him after school. Did some tutoring too. Merle and Gramps go back, what, decades?”

“Centuries,” Angus deadpanned. “My grandfather’s known Mr. Highchurch so long that no one remembers how they met.”

"Oh, a friend of the family, then," Kravitz said. That made sense. The next obvious question would be how Taako met Merle, but Kravitz frankly didn't care. There was nothing he could learn about _how_ Merle Highchurch was inflicted upon him that would ameliorate the situation. "I've lost touch with everyone who looked after me when I was young. I think it's very sweet that the two of you remained good friends."

Taako laughed. “Give it time, someday Angus, someday you’ll fly the coop and forget all about old Taako,” he said dramatically.

Angus laughed too. “I’m not gonna forg—“

“Someday!” Taako cried, hamming it up. “Someday, Angus will be famous the world over, and I’ll be withering in this bodega, and no one will believe that I used to feed him his afternoon snack!”

“No sir, I promise I’ll credit you when I’ve achieved fame,” Angus said smartly. “You can have a footnote in my memoir as the elf who shaped my formative years.”

“And taught you your first cantrips! You still practicing those, pumpkin?”

“Yessir,” Angus said. “Prestidigitation comes in pretty handy for detective work.”

Taako snorted. “Yeah, but I bet you’re getting more mileage out of that _Disguise Self_. Don’t tell me about any lawbreaking though, I wanna be able to say you’re innocent in court.”

Kravitz leaned against the doorframe, soaking in the banter with a slight smile. Seeing Taako this unguarded, this joyful, was a real treat. "Is the detectiving taking off? Cracked any hard cases lately?" he asked.

Angus put his finger to his lips. “I’m working on a very important case right now, but I can’t say much about it yet. It requires discretion.”

Kravitz blanched. Angus raised a single, damning eyebrow. Taako looked back and forth between them in alarm. That was the mischief face again, what was Angus investigating? Oh _no,_ did Merle put him up to something? Something fucking _Taakitz_ related? That wasn’t a thing, why did everyone insist on making it a thing?

Wait. Wait, Angus didn’t say that was it. Maybe it wasn’t. But what if it was though? “Well—well guess you better not say anything about it, then, gotta respect that confidentiality,” he managed.

“Yessir. It might keep me busy going forward, though, so you guys should keep hanging out without me. You’re not fighting anymore, right?”

“That’s correct,” Kravitz huffed. He tried to unscrunch his glare into a more amicable expression. Angus may be an incorrigible meddler, but he was still a kid. Just barely. And, more importantly, he had blackmail material.

At any rate, Kravitz was days off from coming clean, and then Angus wouldn't have anything to hold over his head worse than his youthful indiscretions with MySpace videos. "I'm sure everything will be resolved soon, Angus. I have utmost confidence in you." Confidence that he would spill the beans if Kravitz chickened out. "I hope this won't be occupying your evening totally. I hate to sound banal," or hypocritical, "but rest is important for growing boys."

“Oh not to worry, sir, Mr. Highchurch and Captain Davenport are visiting with my grandfather later tonight, so I’ll have some free time. Are you still coming on Wednesday, Taako?”

Taako nodded in confirmation. “Course I am, Wednesday’s grocery day, that way you miss the crowds. Just pick me up after your nifty youth thing.”

“That’s NFTY, my youth group, Mr. Kravitz. In case you thought Taako was being facetious,” Angus said cheekily. “And we’re not actually meeting this week. Everyone else will be on a trip down to the city for a convention, but I couldn’t go because my grandfather needs me here. They all said they’re going to bring me souvenirs.”

Kravitz sagged a little against the doorframe and affixed a dim smile. Things were starting to add up. "Ah, might I ask— How is your grandfather doing, Angus?"

Angus paused. “He’s holding steady, and he hasn’t had a fall for a couple months, but his memory is getting worse. He really has trouble orienting himself. Everyone’s been pitching in, Taako and Lup and Mr. Highchurch and Mr. Burnsides, so we’re okay for now. I’m not really sure about when I go to college, though…”

“We’ll make it work, kiddo, promise, we’ll make a plan and do what needs doing,” Taako said, with more overt sincerity than Kravitz had ever heard from him.

Kravitz drew a measured breath. He knew what it was like to watch the slow decline of your caregiver. No child deserved to go through that. Thank goodness Angus had so many people helping him.

Angus seldom spoke about his home life. Kravitz hadn't realized the challenges he was facing. On the surface, things seemed fine, but that was now obviously because of his support network.

Kravitz had not enjoyed similar support. In the Raven Queen’s flock, he was never short of people who would make sure he was clothed and fed. But he didn’t have anything like the camaraderie Angus shared with Taako.

When Kravitz's foster parents began struggling like Angus’s grandfather, he'd simply be moved to a new home. It was an easy enough transition. He was lucky. Same congregation, same school, often the same neighborhood. He'd see the people he loved until the end, on occasion, and he seldom encountered their corpses before the funeral.

Peaceful deaths, all. It was just that so many of the Raven Queen's adherents were old. The imminence of their mortality was usually what drew them into her flock. And so Kravitz usually enjoyed only a handful of months with each.

When it came time to mourn, his grief would be subsumed by the grief of the deceased’s _real_ family. He was ever on the periphery, determined not to impose.

"If there's anything at all I can do to help, don't hesitate to ask," Kravitz said. "I've... I'd like to contribute. You're a good kid, Angus. You deserve all the support in the world."

“Thank you, Mr. Kravitz. I might sometime, there’s always paperwork and nosey folks who need to be scared off by adults. You make my job here pretty easy, and that helps a lot,” Angus said.

Angus seemed to take Kravitz’s offer in stride, but Taako was surprised. But on second thought, not really. Hadn’t Kravitz said he was a former foster care kid? He probably got it. Of course he’d want to help Angus out.

Taako gave a gap-toothed smile. “Hey, the more hands the better, right?” In his opinion, what he’d done for Ango wasn’t extraordinary or ideal. But it was the best he could do, and it was looking like it might’ve been enough. Angus turned out great. Taako might never say it, but he couldn’t be prouder.

"I fully agree," Kravitz said. "Feel free to rely on me any time. Except, perhaps, for anything that entails driving. I don’t have a car and I’m not in a hurry to acquire one."

“Psssh, mood, right? Cars are expensive, gas is outrageous, and the DMV on top? Nah, nah, no thanks.” Taako nodded vigorously.

Angus laughed. “No worries, I have driving covered! Maybe one of these days you’ll even stop clinging to the door handle when I drive,” he said to Taako.

Kravitz burst out laughing. "That's hardly how to instill confidence in a young driver, Taako!"

“I trust _Angus,_ I just don’t trust the _other drivers!_ Or like, _buildings!”_ Taako protested. 

Angus laughed harder. “You’re a nervous wreck in the car, sir,” he confirmed.

"I can picture it." Kravitz smirked. "All the same, and with no offense meant... Your car is kind of a rattletrap, Angus. I might be scared too."

“No worries sir. If it breaks down, Mr. Burnsides said he’ll help me fix it!” Angus said cheerily.

“But we might be _in_ it at the time though!” Taako complained.

Kravitz huffed. "Is that _Magnus_ you mean? I don't know if anyone told you, Angus, but he came in here with Merle two weeks ago and nearly broke half our stock of liquor. And he can't even drink, he had no business touching it in the first place! He fixes cars?"

Taako snorted. “Yeah, he’s kind of a bull in a china shop. He’s got his talents, though, like the vehicle proficiency he won’t shut up about. And woodworking. And he’s real good with dogs, they love the guy.”

"I suppose neither metal nor wood shatter when dropped," Kravitz said disdainfully. The bell over the door jingled to announce the arrival of a customer. "Ah, that's my cue. Pleasant chatting with you both."

Taako watched as Kravitz turned away and let the kitchen door close behind him. He idly put a gloved hand in the olive bin, just kind of squishing them, working on rebooting the brain cells he was gonna need to make that salad.

It _was_ pleasant chatting with Kravitz, was the thing. After that first impression, he never would’ve fuckin’ guessed that Krav had a personality beyond being a pretentious, kind of judgmental, easily exasperated jerk.

But it turned out he was those things in a way that meshed with Taako’s own asshole tendencies, and funny and kind to boot. Affectionate, even, and wasn’t that a weird thing to think about your assistant manager.

The look of appraisal Angus was giving him was just this side of smug, and he didn’t like that one bit. “You gonna make those deliveries sometime today, or do you live in this kitchen now?” Taako said snidely.

Angus hopped off the counter. “I was just on my way out after I finished evaluating the situation,” he said. “Because of my excellent detectiving skills, I couldn’t help but notice how much you were staring at Mr. Kravitz’s butt.”

Taako shrieked and flung an olive. “No, absolutely fuckin’ not, that’s not what was happening there!”

Angus grinned and didn’t even bother to dodge. The olive caught in his curls. “Do you like Mr. Kravitz, sir?”

Taako crossed his arms. “Knock it the fuck off. I have a _boyfriend_, thank you.”

Angus rolled his eyes so hard they were fit to pop out of his head. “Okay, sure, but do you like Mr. Kravitz as a person? Maybe a little?”

“What the heck, kiddo,” Taako threw his head back and searched the ceiling for guidance. “I like him the normal amount for coworkers, okay?”

“I don’t ever see you being this chummy with Carey,” Angus said innocently.

Taako’s ears pinned back against his head. “Carey’s fine, she likes my sandwiches, we get along fine! She and Magnus are just terrifying when you get them together is all, I can’t go encouraging that behavior, it’s exhausting.”

Angus brushed the olive out of his hair. “Whatever you say, sir. I’m only asking because I don’t want you and Mr. Kravitz to fight again, and I don’t think he knows you like him, not even ‘the normal amount for coworkers’.”

Taako threw up his hands. “It’s not my fault he’s dumb, what do you want me to do about it?”

“That’s up to you, sir,” Angus said. “I’m not going to tell you how you should conduct your relationships.”

“So don’t! You can stop right there.”

Angus plowed on ahead. “All I want to say is that he still worries you might be mad at him. Frankly, I think he’s kind of scared of you.”

_“Good.”_ Wait, no, was that good? Did Taako even still want the upper hand against him? They definitely weren’t at war anymore. Kravitz’s behavior hadn’t made sense to him ever, but he was willing to take the friendliness at face value. If there was some nefarious plot going on in the background, Taako could turn him into a toad as payback. If Lup didn’t light his ass on fire first.

“I know you don’t really think that,” Angus said. Taako scrunched up his nose and gestured until Angus got the idea and threw the olive into the trash, where it belonged.

Taako closed his eyes and gathered a double-handful of emotions, enough to get the boy detective off his case. “I don’t have a problem with Kravitz. I have less than zero interest in fighting with him again, okay? The shop’s gonna keep running as smooth as ever, and no more breaking up fights for you.”

“Sure thing, sir,” Angus said. He turned to open the door and leave. “Just don’t forget what I told you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dammit Angus, why'd you have to be respectful of Kravitz's anxiety when you could've solved this thing in one big reveal? Maybe next time.
> 
> (Definitely next time.)


	23. Another Heartache/the show must go on

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chaos. Utter fuckin' chaos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the halfway point, the nadir of despair!

The next couple days passed smoothly. Taako was just beginning to dare to hope.

Kravitz was helpful and pleasant. Things were a kind of livable, professional normal that he could really get used to. Brad and Carey were nice to work with, and Brad said he’d be starting interviews soon for a new employee to spread the workload around.

Alright, fine. And Kravitz was _hot,_ but that didn’t matter.

Trautonium_Corvid was increasingly sweet. Taako was so ready to meet him, especially since the man kept teasing, pushing him off from sexting in favor of their upcoming date. Every time he passed the fridge at home, the list of goals caught his eye with its unchecked item. Maybe. Just maybe.

This week Taako had some notice, so he set about making hundreds of tiramisu mini cups. Even with plenty of time, though, those were labor intensive. When Thursday evening rolled around he was exhausted. Worth it: Kravitz would help serve them at the festival, so he’d survive. He let Lup do the majority of the heavy lifting while he carefully stacked the coolers in pairs under the table, making sure nothing spilled.

Arriving half an hour later, Kravitz pushed his way off the bus and into the crowd jockeying for position at the queue outside the still-closed token tent. Tonight he would have hours with Taako, and he felt more and more pressure to be affable as the fateful Saturday reveal approached.

This was backfiring. His nerves were such that their banter faltered, even when he was under guise as Trautonium_Corvid. Hopefully Taako didn't find his increasingly helpless sappiness off-putting.

Thank goodness that Lup would be with them. She should leave him an avenue to take a step back in the conversation. Watching her and Taako interact was honestly just as enjoyable as being the sole recipient of Taako's attention. He couldn't believe he'd ever found their antics annoying.

Maybe he should buy tokens with which to purchase something nice for the twins. He was admittedly the least essential person in their booth, so it was feasible for him to do a snack run. And he wanted to use a little of the overtime money now burning a hole in his pocket. He joined the line for tokens.

He'd been dreadfully delayed cashing his check—the bus route didn't go anywhere near the bank, and his phone couldn't run the app for depositing checks. Brad must have noticed, because yesterday Killian and Carey showed up in their Subaru right at the end of Kravitz's shift and asked him if he wanted to 'run errands'. They were kind to spare his pride. With their help, he arrived at campus with extra time to prepare for his exam, which he certainly aced.

Everything was coming up roses. The 'jam sesh' Johann initiated was a genuine pleasure. They took over Johann's practice room, then the advisor's office, and then Kravitz's practice room, migrating around the building with instruments bundled in their arms. Composition IV wasn't to group performances yet, and Kravitz had forgotten how much he enjoyed them. 

Johann should be here today too. Kravitz stood on tiptoes to see above the heads of everyone else in line. He was surprisingly chill about his band's upcoming performance, stating that it was 'only a music fest'. Kravitz was too happy for him to be jealous. They'd practiced some of Johann's compositions, with Kravitz alternately contributing on violin or piano. He fell back into Johann's orchestral, overwhelmingly beautiful style easily. The undercurrents of melancholy helped soothe his frayed nerves. Playing together was almost like confiding in a friend.

Almost fifteen minutes later, Kravitz shoved his way into the Far Corners tent with a double-fistful of tokens. He went overboard as an apology when he realized how long the line was taking. "Sorry, I hope I'm not too late.”

Taako frowned slightly. He couldn’t help it, he’d gotten stuck with moving way too many coolers. "Yeah, little bit, my guy. No matter, you're here now," he said irritatedly.

Lup snorted a laugh. "Aw, cut him some slack, bro-bro, he prolly just got hung up in the crowd. Hey Krav, hope you know I'm going to bat for you on the condition that you help me clean up these bottles later.”

Taako rolled his eyes with a huffy little laugh. Being a few minutes late was far from the worst thing Kravitz had ever done to him, but he just wasn't feeling inclined to be generous. He was nervous about meeting Trautonium_Corvid in only two days, tired from the prep work, sweaty from the rising temperatures, and overall short on patience. "Go off, I guess," he said sarcastically.

"Yes, I'll help—" Kravitz's phone buzzed. "One moment."

Was this the email announcing the Comp IV exam results were posted? He surreptitiously slid his phone out of his pocket while scooping more ice into the coolers one-handed. Whatever Taako had made would be a surprise to him, and he was looking forward to it.

hey sorry if youre bothered but it's me again. Johann. remember the music fest deal? I dont know if you can make it here but if you can I could really use your help for a sec ASAP  
  
Maybe. What's wrong?  
  
woah I think I see you. whatre you doing in the food tents? omw ill tell you in person   
  
That's alright, I'll come to you  
  


Kravitz shoved his phone back amongst the tokens in his pocket. "Excuse me, I'll be right back," he said, and ran out of the tent. He hadn’t told Johann about his retail job!

Taao groaned theatrically and turned to Lup. “He’s just gonna...? _Ugh,”_ he groused.

Lup rolled her eyes. “It’s fine, he’s a flake, we got this,” she assured him.

“Yeah,” Taako said. It wasn’t fine. Kravitz was gallivanting off to who-knows-where and leaving Taako to do all the work, and after he’d already done a shift. All he wanted right now was to be home in bed, texting his man.

Taako set out the plasticware within easy reach. It was fine, he’d just kinda grown used to Kravitz pulling his weight and being pleasant to work with. Maybe it was only temporary. Annoying.

*

Kravitz burst out of the alley between the food tents and storefronts and waved Johann down. He was easy enough to spot, in ridiculous poofy pantaloons, a doublet, and a baggy cap with a proud feather. "I'm here. What on earth are you wearing?"

"It's a costume," Johann said, in that drowsy, dour tone of voice he always affected. Kravitz couldn't imagine him singing anything but a dirge. "We're like, medieval themed. Like dungeons and dragons. I'm the party bard."

Kravitz nodded. "Well, I need to hurry back. What's the issue?"

Johann's frown deepened. "Uh, you don't know him, but our tech guy is Avi. He's like, an engineer. And he had some emergency at work that was gonna make him late to this. So he tried to fix a thing really fast, and then he sprained his wrist. Now he's at urgent care."

Kravitz pulled a face in sympathy. "So, you need help setting up?"

Johann nodded. The feather on his cap bobbed with the motion. "Yeah, man. I know you play a lot of instruments. We're good for the drums, but we've got like, a keyboard, and I don't know where any of the cords go."

*

Taako braced his hips on the table and leaned out of their booth. Where was Kravitz? When he came back he was getting an earful, what the _fuck._ They’d have a line any minute, and _apparently_ Taako was gonna just have to deal with that alone.

Damn, he wished he had time to text Trautonium_Corvid and bitch about Kravitz. Maybe it wasn’t fair to Krav, but TC was a good listener. He always made Taako feel better about shit like this.

He turned to Lup. “Hey, can you bail me outta jail if I murder Krav?”

Lup laughed. “With what money, dingus? I can probably scare up a few bucks for a collect call, max.”

*

"These are labeled very neatly," Kravitz said, rooting through the box containing the cords for Johann's setup in the open area behind the stage. The other performers were preparing too, each having claimed a patch of cracked asphalt as their own. The lucky ones had vans with open trunks to work out of. They were surrounded by a cacophony of laughter and conversation, twanging strings and belted chords.

It was the sort of atmosphere Kravitz had both dreamed and dreaded working in, and now he was too frantically busy to absorb it.

Johann's band had a trailer attached to a truck, apparently belonging to the drummer, a massive bugbear who was idly swinging her legs off the tailgate. She was dressed as some sort of sorceress, if he had to place the corset-and-ribbons nestled into her rusty fur. There was already a drum set arranged on the stage, so she had little to do but wait on them. Between the fur and the corset, Kravitz expected she was roasting.

"Uh yeah, Avi did the labels," Johann said. "He's kind of the best. But I still don't understand his system, so..." Johann wrung his hands while his bassist, another bugbear whose name already escaped Kravitz, adjusted the settings for his violin's amp.

"How long do you have to wire the keyboard between sets?" Kravitz asked.

"Uh, like two minutes, but we told Punkin' Spiked they could borrow it and they're two sets before us. They're like Panic! At the Disco's cover of “This is Halloween”, but as a whole band. So it needs to be up... soon."

Kravitz swore. The first performers were almost finished with their sound check on stage. "You mean that this needs to be up in time for the _second set?_ I'll see what I can do."

*

Taako fumed as customers started filtering in for tiramisu. So it was up to him to pick up the slack. Cool, great. Awesome.

He settled the container for the tokens more firmly into place. “Welp, Lulu, this is our booth now,” he said.

She shot him two thumbs up. “Hell yeah, let’s crush it.”

Taako didn’t want to “crush it”, he wanted to go home and stick his phone in a ziploc baggie and pour a glass of wine and text Trautonium_Corvid from the bathtub, but fine. He and Lup would crush it, they always did.

*

Kravitz and the bugbear sorceress/drummer, who had reminded him her name was Jamie, jogged up the steps to the stage. They passed the departing opening act with the keyboard supported between them and cords looped around their arms. In a flurry, Jamie unspooled bundles one at a time for Kravitz to frantically connect the power and speakers.

He could see a sliver of Taako's face under the Far Corners banner, though the distance was too great to make out his expression. And then customers moved in and blocked his view.

Kravitz connected the last cord and left Punkin' Spiked to warm up with a cordial nod.

*

The first big rush of customers reached their booth, and Taako briefly found himself distracted by serving them. It always did take a handful of folks to find that rhythm. 

“Hey, man, here you go, getchu something nice to go with, alright?” he said, pointing a halfling in Lup’s direction.

“You tryna outsell me again?” Lup joked. She waved to some of the customers in Taako’s line. “Hey listen folks, I got something to prove to my brother here, and I’m gonna need your help. Who’s thirsty?” A few folks laughed.

Taako gasped. “Betrayal! Y’all see this? Oh my gods, come get some tiramisu, I’ll hook you up!” A few more folks laughed and dug in their pockets for more tokens.

It would be fine, Kravitz would be back any minute and they’d just have a little chat later.

*

Johann and Christie, the bassist, were in a heated discussion when Kravitz dismounted the stage. "Oh no," Jamie groaned behind him. "Kids, what’s the problem?"

Johann started, "Jeff reneged—"

"He fucking ditched us," Christie interrupted. "And now we don't have—"

The booming chords of Punkin' Spiked’s opening drowned her out. She huffed in frustration and motioned for everyone to follow her away.

"I really have to go!" Kravitz said. No one's expressions registered that they heard him over the music. Jamie seized his wrist and dragged him along.

*

Okay so. So.

Kravitz was _pretty fucking far_ past “just a minute”.

Taako was gonna personally kick this boy’s ass. That’s it, no more Mr. Nice Elf, just immediate justice. The line was stacking up, the bands were playing, the whole thing was chaos and dammit, Taako needed Kravitz here for it.

He huffed. “Lulu, is your boy here tonight? Apparently Krav fell in a porta potty.”

She shook her head and shrugged. “He’s helping his mom with something, I think plumbing and yardwork? Something about the city water valve she has out back.”

“Oofa doofa,” Taako muttered. Barry was such a boy scout. Why couldn’t Taako find a man to have his back at times like this?

“Listen, I need more ice,” Lup said. “Are things gonna fall apart if I dart out for two minutes? Two actual minutes, I’m not Kravitz, I can count.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll time you. Get going!” Taako called. She sprinted off, and he swiveled to the next customer.

*

Kravitz wasn’t able to free his arm until Jamie led him all the way back to her pickup. "I said, 'we're fucked'," Johann called over the music. "This is the worst. I guess it makes sense that this would happen at our first real performance."

"Oh, don't you start that," Christie snapped. "But we should've canceled when Avi sprained his wrist. This sucks. Klarg came all this way. I really wanted him to see us play."

"Excuse me," Kravitz said, slightly indignant. This favor had snowballed into far more than he had reckoned. Taako was expecting him back, and he was sick of the chaos. "But I assure you the keyboard is just fine. There's nothing wrong with it!" He gestured to the stage, where it was clearly audible in the mélange of spooky pop-punk.

Christie groaned. "No, the problem is that Avi was supposed to play it! Jeff's _Jeff Angel,_ you know, the soloist. He's not in our band—I think he's actually like, the closing act, but he and my brother kind of know each other so Jeff agreed to be our backup. Except _now_ he texted me that he 'doesn't feel confident' about the music or whatever. It's half pre-programmed, he just needs to hit a button!"

"It's actually more like six buttons," Johann said. "And like, timing is a thing. I guess we shouldn't have expected him to manage it."

"Ugh, can't we just go out there and _not_ have the keyboard?" Christie groaned. She huddled further into her costume cape; her outfit was overwhelmingly green and featured fishnet tights and a feathered cap, which reminded Kravitz strongly of a burlesque Peter Pan, though the fishnet was likely in deference to all that fur. She was probably supposed to be a ranger, by way of the cheapest possible costume.

Jamie shook her head. "No, “Crystal Minuet” and “Cosmoscope” really need it. Ninety percent of the beats in Crystal are the chimes Avi programmed. I do virtually nothing in that song."

"That's half our set," Johann said, eyes downcast. "I guess I'd better warn whoever's after us that they're up early. Unless—"

"Unless?" echoed the bugbears. Johann turned a beseeching look on Kravitz, and their heads swiveled with his.

*

A cool and fun thing about Taako was that he could take tokens with one hand and dole out tiramisu plus spoon with the other for twenty consecutive cups without dropping any, all in under a minute. At least, so he was finding out tonight.

Gods, this was entirely too much. Ridiculous. Kravitz should be here, what, did he just go home?

What Taako wouldn't give for five minutes. Just five minutes to text Trautonium_Corvid, get his head on straight, then back in the game. Just one little "I'm sure you're doing wonderfully, love" or something. That'd make all the difference.

Lup scooted over to grab the gin bottle closest to Taako. She elbowed him lightly. "Hey, c'mon, we've got it. Want me to yell at him later?"

Taako sighed. "It's fine, I'll handle it," he said. He sure as fuck would.

*

"While yes, we did play “Crystal Minuet” on Tuesday, I don't think that grants me sufficient familiarity—"

Johann cut Kravitz off. "Dude, “Cosmoscope” is really just “Into the Cosmos” except with some extra synth and the tempo slowed. It's at three-four, like I said I thought I wanted to do after we played it in class last spring. And the only other thing we're playing is “Crystal Kingdom”, which for you would be four chords and a couple samples. They're labeled."

"It's easy, I can show you," Jamie said. "You don't even have to touch the sliders."

"I think Avi sent me a picture with the settings circled," Johann said, digging in his pantaloons for his phone.

Kravitz raked a hand back through his dreads. "And another thing, why are you medieval fantasy themed? All this talk of cosmos and crystals is rather sci-fi. Seems like you should be in spacesuits."

"Dude, do you not know what D ‘n D is? Most helmets aren’t big enough for bugbears, and this costume was only twenty bucks at Fantasy Party City,” Christie said, gesturing to her green tights and the floppy felt shoe covers that her furry, clawed toes were peeking out from. "Plus, not everyone wanted to go as hard on the theme as Johann."

"Found it!" Johann said, waving his phone. There was more excitement in his voice than Kravitz had thought him capable of.

"Oh dear, Kravitz does need a costume," Jamie said. "Hang on, I totally have something." She climbed into the bed of her truck.

"This is completely unnecessary," Kravitz griped. He held up his hands and stepped back from Johann. "I can't stay, I have—I have _work,_ I'm supposed to be serving food." Taako and Lup might be overwhelmed without him. He'd only meant to be gone for a couple minutes.

*

As the line continued to grow, Taako’s heart pounded. He was up for the challenge, true. He could do this, true.

Then he spotted the bugbear standing head and shoulders above the crowd. And the bugbear spotted him.

Taako’s heart dropped to his stomach. Three more tiramisu cups served, and, “Taako! It’s so good to see you.”

Klarg grinned broadly and loomed over the table. He had to duck a little to fit his head in the tent. Lup sidled over to stand next to Taako, her eyebrows all the way up. She was obviously suppressing a smile. Traitor.

“Yeah, uh, hey. ‘Sup, my man,” Taako said awkwardly. “What brings you here? You uh, you want some tiramisu?”

Never mind Kravitz ditching them, _this_ was the worst thing to happen today. Taako hadn’t spoken to Klarg since highschool...when he dumped the guy via ghosting right before graduation.

Look, he didn’t want to tell eight feet and three hundred pounds of fluff ‘n muscle that he just wasn’t feeling it. Or face down those sad puppy dog eyes. Klarg had been way more into their budding relationship than Taako ever was. Klarg was charmed by him instantly, and that made Taako uncomfortable, because it’s not like they really knew each other.

So Taako blocked Klarg’s number, spent a few weeks hiding under a Fantasy MCR hoodie, and sent Lup out as a decoy a couple times during passing period. No biggie. And hopefully, no bad blood, because he did _not_ want to deal with a huge scene at work.

“It’s so good to see you again,” Klarg said. He looked like he was tempted to passionately clasp Taako’s hand through the food service glove, which, no thanks! Taako put his hands behind his back. “How have you been? It’s been such a long time, is this where you work now? I’m here to see my sister and our mom perform, they’re in a band. Wow, what a small world! It’s lucky we ran into each other. And Lup, how are you?”

“I’ve been great, my dude!” she said, grinning broadly. “I’ve got this new boyfriend and he’s the best. We should totally catch up over lunch sometime!”

Taako tried to surreptitiously stomp on her toes. She deftly sidestepped him. Gods, she was the worst.

“That sounds great! Only, I don’t think I have either of your numbers anymore?” Klarg said, casting a sad look towards Taako. Fuck everything.

“I still have yours, I can give it to her--” no he fucking wouldn’t, but she’d steal his phone and get it herself, “So, is that one tiramisu or two or three, maybe…? They’re kinda small, big guy.”

“I’ll take a half dozen, so I can share with my family after the show,” Klarg said. “I’m just so excited.”

“Yeah, happy for you homie,” Taako said. Looks like he could escape relatively unscathed, if Klarg would just move along. There were customers piling up behind him, and also, Taako really didn’t deserve this tonight.

“I got you!” Lup said, helpfully taking a stack of tokens from Klarg. “I will totally text you later, have fun now!”

Taako grumbled as Klarg finally headed off. Lup definitely would text, damn her, there should be laws against sisters and schadenfreude. “Do you see Kravitz anywhere?” she asked Taako.

“No. I’ma need help to hide a body,” Taako answered.

*

Johann gripped Kravitz's shoulders. "Look, man. I don't want to keep you here if you really can't. But like, think about it for a second. You told me you were still looking out for opportunities to perform, and I don't mean to put you on the spot here, but you seemed really down about it. This is for _art,_ man. This is an experience. And like, you need stuff to put on your resume and grad school apps."

He released Kravitz and backed off with a shrug. "But that's just what I think. It's definitely not worth getting fired over."

Kravitz took a long moment to collect himself. "I would hardly be fired. Serving the festival isn't mandatory and they really need me at the shop. But I told my colleagues that I would only be gone for a moment. They've no idea what I'm doing."

"Oh shit, hurry up and text them!"

*

“Just a minute, just a minute, she’ll be right back,” Taako said, trying to placate the line for the bar while Lup hunted in boxes for more vodka. Should’ve had _someone_ here to do that shit...

The whole scene was chaotic. The band wrapping up now was like, out-of-season spooky; Taako was sweating buckets to contrast their sound and it was _jarring._ He couldn’t get to his phone to even figure out what next, he was just _stuck._

Taako _hated_ being stuck.

He was used to being the guy contributing the most in the room and looking the best while doing it, but people got used to it, and then dependent on it, and then took advantage of it, and that worked...

Right up until the day it didn’t.

Taako was about one minor annoyance from tossing a Zippo over his shoulder on the way out of this godsdamned place, just take Lup and get gone, _no more._

*

"So I usually throw this off dramatically before I sit down to drum. See, it's just drawstrings here," Jamie said. "But it's not going to be in your way?"

Kravitz looked between the message he was composing and the voluminous black material she thrust at him. The edges seemed rather frilly for his taste. It was unquestionably part of her sorceress outfit. "It should be fine," he said, more than a little clipped. He shaded his screen with his hand and continued typing.

"Okay, rad," she said happily.

Johann cocked his head. "Sounds like the outro. Next group should be coming up. How long was their set again?"

"Oh, I have _no idea,"_ Jamie said. "Kravitz, hurry up and let me help you tie this."

"Please, just a minute," Kravitz said. Why had he never put Taako or Lup's numbers in his contacts? Especially Taako's. The only place Kravitz had him was the group chat with Brad, and he couldn't put a message about his absence there.

If Brad heard Taako was shorthanded now, he'd leave Carey alone at the store and rush here. And by the time he arrived, Kravitz would be done with Johann and resuming his station anyway. Plus, Taako had not asked. If he didn't feel like he needed Brad's aid, then Kravitz deferred to his judgement.

He was the least essential person at the booth anyway. Taako ran that show. So, texting him directly would be best. Kravitz squinted at the number from the group chat, memorizing it—

"Okay, guys, guys! I looked it up," Christie shouted.

"What?" Johann said.

"_Lyvidia’s_ set is only two songs, but they're each like, five minutes on Ed’s bandcamp."

"Got it," Jamie said. Kravitz barely had time to type in Taako's number and send the message before she blanketed his arms in fabric. He nearly dropped his phone.

*

“Okay, okay, hold on folks, single line, come on—sir? Just _try_ me,” Lup dared. The guys queueing for drinks were getting out of hand.

Taako dashed to the back to grab another massive container of tiramisu cups. He leaned on the counter, just five seconds, just to steady his breathing.

He pulled out his phone. Still nothing. Well, fuck Kravitz also. He shoved his phone back into his pocket.

He picked up the container and headed back to the front, plastering a smile on his face at odds with the hard steel in his eyes. “Who’s hungry?” he asked, all false cheer.

*

"Can you please turn the brightness up more?" Kravitz asked. Johann obliged and the picture of Avi’s keyboard setup became crisp enough to read the numbered buttons.

"Okay, so we're opening with “Cosmoscope” because it's like a story, right? The idea is that there's an astronomer looking up at the heavens and then she sees—"

"Johann, please, is this necessary?"

"Fine, whatever. “Cosmoscope” is first up but we rehearsed it last, so it's actually the third registered button, and “Crystal Minuet” is the first. Then “Crystal Kingdom” is both second and fourth."

Kravitz squeezed his eyes shut, picturing the mouse-drawn, pixelated circles Avi had scrawled over the photo of his Yamaha keyboard. "Okay, three, one, then two and four. What else?"

"Well, for “Cosmoscope” you don't want to hit it until we're four measures in, and “Crystal Minuet” comes in at two, but you want to hit it the instant Kingdom starts or else it'll be fucked up. I'll give you a hand signal or something. Now let's talk about the chords. How well do you remember “Into the Cosmos?”"

Kravitz groaned. Christie shot him a pitying look. "Pretty sure Lydia and Edward are segueing into the second song. As in, their last song. We're on in five."

*

Just tiramisu, all was tiramisu. And _vengeance._

Taako served up the cups—thank the _gods_ they were premade, that was the only thing holding this situation together at this point—and plotted. He’d lost track of time, but Kravitz must’ve been gone, what, somewhere between half an hour and forty-five minutes? Easy.

Unacceptable, but reality. Alright, fine. Kravitz had better just not show his face til tomorrow without a damn good explanation.

“Enjoy that, alright? Who’s next—three? Okay, if you’re getting—yeah, here let me pass ‘em down and you all can get your drinks ordered,” he said. “Lup—Lup? These are for this gentleman,” he said as he slid them down the bar.

“Got ‘em, what’ll it be?” she asked.

*

Lydia and Edward were taking a bow onstage. Christie and Jamie crowded Kravitz against the stairs. He motioned for them to back up so he could walk without tripping.

This was awful of him. Going up there would mean leaving Taako and Lup alone in the booth for another quarter hour. But the excitement took root in his heart. He hadn't ever performed professionally. There had been recitals, and various temple functions, but he'd never been on a stage like this. A large part of him had feared this opportunity would never come.

Now he just had to pull it off.

The cue came, and Johann headed up the steps, followed by Christie and Jamie. Kravitz hunched into his costume and clambered after them.

*

The set onstage ended, and the scattered applause almost drowned out the next customer’s order. Taako turned in irritation as the next act took the stage—

Oh, that _motherfucker!_

*

Johann stepped up to the microphone. "Hey, so, hi. My name's Johann, and this is my band, minus Avi and plus—"

Kravitz sliced his hand across his throat. His text explained the situation to Taako, but he would rather not rub this in his face. "Uh, a mysterious guest," Johann continued. "Anyway, we're here from the distant, mythical shores of Neverwinter, and you can also find us on Instagram, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, Facebook, and Spotify, soon. Just google _Power Word: Amaze!"_

Kravitz shut his eyes, embarrassment warring with the thrill from the crowd's eager cheers. Jamie tapped the first soft beats of “Cosmoscope”, and he counted four measures before activating the programmed synth and placing his hands on the keys.

*

Kravitz couldn’t fucking hide in that big stupid cape, even with the hood up Taako’d know those cheekbones anywhere. “Just a second,” he said to the customer at the front of the line. “Lulu, are you seeing—?”

“Oh. My. _Gods,”_ Lup interrupted, jaw dropping open. “Oh-ho, hooohoho_no,_ is that—?”

_“Yes,_ ‘be right back’ my _ass,”_ Taako hissed. He forced a smile and accepted tokens from another customer as the band started to play. Gods_dam_mit, they were good, though this was definitely gonna be the end of the line for a certain keyboard player.

So this was what Kravitz did in his free time, some sort of symphonic-electropop nerdy LARP thing. Fine, well and good, but this wasn’t his free time, was it now?

Could he not at least be transparent? Give some notice? Seriously, they must’ve been rehearsing forever, the alternative was Kravitz being some type of virtuosic multi-instrumentalist who couldn’t handle fucking kitchen tongs, and Taako couldn’t really wrap his head around that at the moment.

Taako turned his focus back to the customers. Know who should be on that stage? Trautonium_Corvid, wooing the crowd while Taako fed them dessert. That’s what should’ve gone down. Not this fucking bullshit.

*

Johann was spectacular. The harmonies he peeled from the strings of his violin were so crystal-clear that it was almost as if they appeared in the air, ringing straight from his mind. Christie's bass provided a smooth undercurrent, adding complexity to the melody that the recording they'd used for “Into the Cosmos” in class had lacked.

They were incredible, and when Kravitz started plinking the delicate chords that built the song's ethereality into an overwhelming rush of feeling, like resting on the bottom of a stream bed and looking up at a blurred, watercolor sky, they were _perfect._

The segue into “Crystal Minuet” was clean, and Kravitz found the rhythm easily. He didn't feel that he had to remember the chords from Johann's last-minute lesson. His hands found their places effortlessly and music poured forth. The piano underscored and melded with the synth tracks to buoy Johann's masterful violin.

At the switch to “Crystal Kingdom”, he barely had to think about hitting the new programmed tracks. Every note in harmony made perfect sense to him. He felt the joy he always did during a particularly easy practice, when he could lose himself in the music and fall out of time, but amplified with the ecstasy of performing with a group while an audience danced and cheered.

The crowd didn't come back into focus after Johann lowered his violin. The final notes shivered in the air and seemed to swell towards the heavens instead of dying. Johann swept his hat off for a bow, and only once he straightened up did Kravitz catch sight of Taako, pointedly ignoring the stage.

He tried to let the applause carry him down the steps. So what if Taako hadn't paid attention? He had no reason to, and Kravitz shouldn’t begrudge him. One very busy, understandably stressed person out of a crowd of hundreds shouldn't matter.

This did nothing to mitigate the fact that Taako was owed an apology, and Kravitz intended to deliver. He shrugged out of Jamie's cape and pulled his phone from his pocket.

I'm sorry, Kravitz dear, but I think you must have the wrong number. Tell me, did you get in touch with your Taako? This all sounds urgent.   
  


Kravitz snapped his head up and shot Johann a haunted look. "I have to go!"

*

Taako fumed as the next band took the stage. It was terrible that the Power Word Dorks were good. They should be stupid, so Taako could hate them.

And, to make matters worse? He couldn’t deal with any of it until after the festival. There were still customers.

“After?” Lup asked, her tone filling in the message of _hell yeah, I’ll hold your earrings, let’s get into it!_

“After,” Taako snarled in agreement.

*

Kravitz balled Jamie's cape up and tossed it at her, then took off running. He almost slammed into the wall of people milling at the front of the stage. The absurd thought that they were obstructing him on purpose came to him, but he eeled through the crowd without too much effort. No one seemed to recognize or care that he had just performed.

He made it to the alley behind the food tents several agonizing seconds later. Here the crowd thinned to only a few fellow workers. He pulled out his phone and quailed when he realized he'd been gone for nearly an hour. Without wasting any more time, he burst back through the flap behind the Far Corners booth, nearly running headlong into Lup.

“You’re in trouble, Music Man,” she advised him with a smirk. “Word of advice? Do not make eye contact, lead with your first apology, I will not be helping you.”

Taako held himself stiffly, ears deceptively neutral. “Welcome back,” he said acidly. “Nice of you to join us. Remind me to grab you during cleanup for a minute, I gotta talk to you.”

Kravitz dropped his bag to his feet. "Taako, Lup, I am _so sorry."_

“I, for one, look forward to hearing all about how sorry you are, _after_ you sell this food,” Taako snapped.

Lup shrugged at Kravitz’s guilty face. “Don’t look at me, man, I said I wasn’t helping you. I’ve got the drinks handled so no skin off my nose, but...” she nodded toward Taako as if to say _’good luck’._

"Right," Kravitz took a shuddering breath. He'd seen Taako this furious at him before, but this was the first time he felt he truly deserved it. "Right, sorry. Where do you need me?"

Taako scooted into Lup and waved toward a spot at the counter on his other side. “There’s fine,” he bit out. He ignored Lup’s stifled chuckle of shock and delight. What? He was _valid._ Kravitz may be showing his belly in a big show of probably-fake contrition, but Taako still had every right to be pissed!

Taako angled toward Lup and got back to work. No talking or smiles, it was timeout for Kravitz. Let him stew until Taako was ready to tear him a new one.

Kravitz hunched over and focused on taking people's tokens and fetching whatever Lup needed. He felt like he could feel the heat of Taako's anger simmering against his back.

Maybe there was something he could've said to soothe Taako. Maybe the right half-truth would've diffused the situation. There were certainly excuses he could make, yes. Johann's needs and Avi's sprained wrist were rather sympathetic, at least in his reckoning.

But he was sick of himself. He'd spent too long trying to manipulate how Taako felt about him. Any ire was well-earned, bought and paid in ways Taako couldn't anticipate. Because he'd deliberately denied Taako the honesty he deserved for almost two weeks, depriving him of everything he needed to know to pass judgment on Kravitz as a person. And as a boyfriend.

For all his machinations, all his anxious planning and good intentions, Kravitz could not count the ways in which he'd bungled everything.

So he waited. He doted on customers. He did not insert himself in Lup and Taako's conversation. He was useful and efficient, almost robotically so, and steeled himself for the axe to fall.

When the applause for Jeff Angel’s performance faded into the rush of attendees drifting homeward, Taako whirled on Kravitz. “What. The fuck. Was that? You said you’d be right back? Disappearing for an hour to fucking _play in a band_ is not ‘be right back’!”

Kravitz leaned against the table and put his face in his hands. He ran them up his cheeks, tucking a loose dread behind his ear, and lowered them.

Lup was busy packing the remaining bottles into crates. No help would come from her, and it was gauche of him to even entertain the notion. He looked up to catch Taako's gaze. "I'm sorry," he said. "All I can say was that nothing went to plan. I haven't had a good plan for what feels like a very long time."

“You’re _sorry,_ oh cool and good, you know what’s better than _sorry?_ Not fucking abandoning me without notice or explanation,” Taako ranted.

“Oooooh,” Lup interjected, tone rising in amusement.

"You're completely right," Kravitz sighed. "I haven't— I have been terrible at communicating with you. I didn't mean for any of this to happen, but I also didn't...take the necessary steps to prevent it."

Taako didn’t even slow down. “Damn right you didn’t. Your bad planning is not my problem except _oh wait, it is!_ You’ve made it my problem, now! And I don’t want it! How about that!”

“Gods,” Lup chuckled, shaking her head. “Mmm-mm-mm, don’t wanna do that, big mistake.”

Her presence would have cowed him completely, if Kravitz thought he had any chance of salvaging things. But he'd come to realize that he'd crossed that line long ago. "I never meant to become a problem for you. I-I've been quite stupid. I even remember thinking— I tried to send you a text about this evening, but I mistyped the number, and that never would have happened if I had saved you as a contact. But I remember thinking, back when you first started, that I didn't want to talk to you, and choosing to not save your number. That was childish of me."

Taako threw his hands up. “News flash, idiot! Everything has been childish of you! All of it! But you know what? This one’s on me too, how dare I think you were suddenly gonna just change your whole thing and be cool—no, fuck—“ Taako took a breath. “You played me? But I fucking let you. That’s not happening again.”

“Oofa doofa,” Lup muttered. “Yikesarooni. Mmm.”

The only thing keeping Kravitz from crying was the shock. His face was slack, his expression blank.

He was exhausted. To think that this days-long march to the gallows had been something he thought to draw out, as if he had any chance of manipulating Taako into changing his fate. How utterly selfish. "I understand. Taako, there's something I need to tell you."

“What? What is it? This had better be good, I swear to every god,” Taako snapped.

Lup set the last bottle down in the box she was loading and turned, giving the two her full attention, eyes wide with anticipation.

This would be easier if Taako was still yelling at him. Kravitz took a deep breath and prayed that the flatness of his tone didn't belie his sincerity. "I have never regretted anything more than how petty I was towards you when we got off on the wrong foot at that first meeting. I made all sorts of assumptions that I know aren't true, just because I felt...threatened, by the loss of routine, and by being cut out of the decision-making process."

Taako wasn’t expecting that, exactly. It rang true, but it still didn’t address the issue of Kravitz leaving him in the lurch. Honestly...well, okay, real honesty time, Taako had survived. So had Lup. They had been inconvenienced, yeah. But Taako felt stupid for thinking Kravitz was any different than he had been before. Taako _hated_ feeling stupid. “Maybe listening to a single word I said woulda helped with that,” he groused.

Lup nodded slowly to herself, as though watching this whole thing play out on TV. “Communication. So important,” she intoned.

Kravitz chuckled darkly in agreement. "I promise I listen to you." For weeks, he'd obsessed over every word from Taako. The problem was bigger than that. "Taako, I... We've. Been talking. For longer than we've worked together."

Oh, fucking fantastic. Kravitz had finally snapped. Just what Taako needed, excellent. He felt a tight squeeze in his stomach—why was he nervous to hear what Kravitz meant? He cut his eyes to Lup—_you seeing this shit? This shit I gotta deal with every day?_—then back to Kravitz. She raised her eyebrows in return—_what the fuck?_

Taako snorted theatrically. “That’s ridiculous, Brad introduced us on day one and it’s been hell since then. Believe me, I’d’ve remembered having to deal with you before.”

Kravitz was so hunched that his spine couldn't compress any further. "I know. I know, I didn't figure it out either. At least this is the first night I stood you up. Because. Last time. I did show. I'm sorry."

Taako briefly short-circuited. _What last time?_ He’d only been stood up once recently—

He barely registered Lup’s gasp and her soft squeak of “Oh my _gods, what? No???”_ He looked at Kravitz in shock.

“Last time _when?”_ he choked out.

"Taako, I'm—I'm Trautonium Corvid." His username sounded so very stupid when he had to say the words with his actual mouth.

Taako’s jaw dropped, very nearly letting out the twin to Lup’s yelp, but unable to make a sound. He— No, Kravitz didn’t just say that ridiculous thing he said, definitely not, no way! Why would Kravitz choose this lie to pile on all his other lies? What did that serve except to hurt— Ah, there it was.

“How _dare_ you,” Taako began, louder by the second, face flushing red. “How dare you even speak his name? How dare you even try to joke about— You know what? I’m calling you out, where’s your proof, homie?”

His stomach clenched. What if it wasn’t a lie? Kravitz and Trautonium_Corvid, same place, same time, at the bar. Kravitz wouldn’t leave—because he was meant to be there. Called out sick—because he was upset about it. Turned nice after—_oh gods???_ Taako wheezed.

This was the worst evening of his life. Cosmic karma or fate or whatever landed him here could eat shit.

And Kravitz held his gaze, looking like his own heart was breaking. "You don't really think that I would joke about this. I always said that you're brilliant, and I stand by that."

Taako took a shaky breath. “No, no, you show me, you show me the messages, I can’t—“ he managed. This couldn’t be real, he—they fucking _sexted?_ Taako had complained about Kravitz—to _Kravitz,_ evidently?

"Okay," Kravitz breathed. "Okay." If this was what Taako needed. He fumbled his phone out of his pocket, unlocked the screen, flicked away the rambling messages he'd sent explaining his involvement with Johann's band to a stranger, and handed the phone to Taako with Grindr open.

Lup leaned over his shoulder to read. It was true.

It was all true. Taako couldn’t ignore the evidence any longer.

Gods, _fuck_, what an idiot he’d been. How had they never caught each other? How had he not figured out why he supposedly knew two musicians within miles of each other? He had the thought, didn't he? Almost. Classmates indeed, fuck’s sake.

“How long have you known? Why didn’t you _tell_ me?” Taako demanded.

Kravitz stared down at the scuffed shoes Taako had kindly returned to him. "Truth be told, I was afraid of exactly this."

Taako shook his head. “No, okay no, I can’t deal with this—fuck it,” he said, turning and fleeing through the back of the tent. 

Betrayal didn’t begin to cover it. No wonder Trautonium_Corvid—_Kravitz,_ Taako corrected himself—hadn’t wanted to get as sexy as usual lately. He was hiding something—Kravitz could’ve told him! At work! On Grindr! At the restaurant! At the bar in the first place, how about that?

He wasn’t even sure what Kravitz was to him. Coworker still, enemy possibly, friend had seemed tenuous, boyfriend was dubious to begin with, ex _hurt_ to think about. Taako didn’t know. He didn’t want to think, but mostly he didn’t want to _feel._

As Lup hurried out after Taako, she called over her shoulder, “Have fun with the rest of the cleanup, and word of advice? Never let him storm off without following.” She rolled her eyes and disappeared through the tent flap.

A damning silence flooded in behind her.

So. That was that. Kravitz sat on the edge of the table with his back to the empty street. Servers at the other booths may have given them curious glances earlier, when he was too upset to notice, but were now focused on packing up. One by one, the booths were emptying out and the lights in the surrounding storefronts were dimming.

Numbly, Kravitz toed the lid on the closest cooler shut. He slid off the table. Boxes had to be dragged out, empty bottles recycled, melted ice dumped. He would do it all alone, as Lup instructed. It was the least of what he deserved.

In all his worst imaginings, he hadn't foreseen the venom in Taako's voice. But now it was over with. All his clumsy lies, the anxiety of seeing Taako in person almost every day, for hours without being able to say much at all.

The rambling, sweet, late-night conversations. The joy of seeing an unread message waiting. The comfort of having a confidant to share his days with. The dream of having someone who really knew him and still delighted in his presence. Every single thing he'd dreamed and prayed.

There were a thousand and one choices he might have made differently to avert this end. But he'd failed. The pain he caused Taako was unforgivable.

He would own that. He would entertain no more illusions about fixing his mistakes.

His feelings would never be returned. And how could he claim to love Taako when he'd caused this much pain?

Head bowed, he set to work sorting the bottles and waited for Brad to bring the truck around. He'd cover for Taako and Lup's absence. At least when he saw Taako at work tomorrow, he wouldn't have to pretend to smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a final note of appreciation to everyone who's been yelling at Kravitz to tell the truth before things blow up in his face! You were completely correct.
> 
> There's no coming back from this. Only way out is forward.


	24. If You Wanted Honesty/I’m not okay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus and Merle shake Taako out of his post-maybe-breakup funk while he has about sixteen conflicting emotions vis-a-vis one singular Kravitz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stealth: The Shop Around the Corner, on which this fic is loosely based, ends with Jimmy Stewart's character confessing his identity after not just deflecting, but also making up wholesale lies, Margaret Sullavan's character admitting to being petty because she had a crush on him, and the two of them kissing, fade to black. In fact, Taako's absurd catastrophic idea (what if Kravitz thought he was seeing someone else?) is the sexist headpat of an "explanation" given by Stewart's character via letter in the film. That seems to work much better as ridiculous anxiety thoughts coming from within Taako's brain, giving some credit for intelligence to Taako and keeping Kravitz from being an entire douche.
> 
> The film's abrupt ending also fails to explore the emotional fallout of establishing a relationship with this type of baggage. Never fear, readers: we're gonna explore all of it, and you're invited along for the ride!

The following morning, Taako awoke with a massive headache. It could be the crying. Or the sleeplessness. Or the vodka. Well, maybe all of those. He called out of work and flopped back onto his bed, wearing nothing but his oldest, softest pajama pants. Who the fuck cared?

Lup banged on his door at eight-thirty. "Aren't you late? Get up!" she hollered.

"I'm not going! Brad already knows!" Taako hollered back, staring at the ceiling. 

A moment later, the doorknob rattled and the door swung open to reveal Lup, her bookbag slung over one shoulder and holding the butter knife she used to force the lock. "That's it, I'm callin' the guys, you can't just stay here alone in this state and I've gotta go to class." Her face softened a little. "Hey Ko? Fuck Kravitz. I'll kick his ass if you want, okay? I don't _have_ to keep working there, I'll do the damn thing."

Taako shook his head. "'S not worth it," he said. "Thanks though. Love you."

She tossed the knife onto the bookcase and spun around, forming a little heart with her fingers. He laughed. "Love you too. I’ve gotta go to class, but I’ll come back for a few hours before work, so see you this afternoon.”

"See you this afternoon," he echoed.

Halfway out the door, she paused to shoot a pitying look over her shoulder. "But no, really, I'm siccing the boys on you. So let 'em in when they knock, okay?"

“Fine. But I’m not gonna be fun, so warn ‘em,” Taako said. He might never be fun again, might just be done with men entirely. Maybe he’d stay in this apartment forever. That sounded like a plan.

"Roger that," Lup said. "They know what you're like when you're like this, it's deffo not gonna be a problem. Just make sure you eat something, okay?"

“Only cause you’ll yell at me if I don’t,” Taako said dispiritedly. He sat up and tied his blanket around his shoulders. There. Dressed. Jammie pants and the Cape of Despair, the perfect wallowing clothes. “See? Look, I’m up, I’m dressed, I’ll drink water, love you.”

“I love you too, ‘Ko. Also, I poured the rest of the vodka down the sink and left the Advil out. Sit tight, be nice to the boys, don’t fucking text your ex, and I’ll see you after class.”

She waggled her fingers goodbye as she shut the door behind her. He stared at his knees until he heard the front door click shut too.

He really should drink water. Fine, that was doable. Inarguably good advice. Unlike the “don’t fucking text your ex” bullshit, jury was still out on that. _Ex_ hurt too much to think about.

Taako headed for the kitchen, filled a glass, and stared at it until he heard a knock. His ears perked up.

The knock came again, almost softer than before. Fucking weird. There was a voice in the hallway that sounded deep enough to be Magnus's stage whisper, but usually Taako would have heard his elephant feet thundering down the stairs.

Then the doorknob rattled.

Taako hauled himself toward the door, pulling the blanket around him. The doorknob rattled again, accompanied by soft thumping and rustling sounds. “Mags, what are you doing?” he called irritatedly.

"See! I told you he was up," Merle's voice rang from the hallway.

Scuffling ensued. Magnus said, "Look, I've still— Taako, you go lie down or something, I can let myself—"

"He's trying to pick your lock!" Merle shouted. "Gimme that before you hurt yourself."

“Fuck’s sake,” Taako muttered. He yanked the door open. “Get in here.”

Merle walked in, patting Taako’s leg and handing a lock pick back to Magnus. “Put this thing away,” he said, amused.

"Ugh, how'm I gonna kick Carey's butt if I never get to practice?" Magnus whined, carefully sliding a variety of long metal instruments back into a vinyl case. Taako kind of thought he was overestimating the intricacy of their building’s locks.

"Hush, it's Taako's time of need," Merle said. He shook a large paper shopping bag at Magnus. "Now, take this before I drop it. It weighs a ton."

Magnus gently shut the door and seized the bag. He scampered to the kitchen table, clapping Taako in a quick side-hug on his way. "Ooh, what’s in the— Old man, is this booze? It's not even nine!" Between his meaty fingers, he hefted two bottles by the necks as he tipped a third out onto the table.

“Time isn’t fuckin’ real,” Taako declared. He tried for a small smile. The boys bringing over goodies and very nearly breaking into his apartment to make sure he was alright said a lot. Helped shake him out of that miserable headspace.

He went to the kitchen for glasses, blanket billowing out behind him. “Corkscrew, or...?”

“Screw top,” Merle corrected. “Why complicate things?”

Magnus rolled his eyes and went digging in the cabinets. He came up with two novelty plastic cups, one Spongebob themed and the other proclaiming ‘DIVA’ in sparkly glitter that was half worn-off, and an ‘I hate Mondays’ coffee mug. "Weren't you guys drinking _last_ Friday night too? I'm just saying, I'm seeing some unhealthy habits forming here."

Merle snorted. "This guy had one glass of wine. _One!_ Uno! He was too busy making eyes at that Kravitz fella."

Magnus sliced his hand across his throat and hissed, "Ix-nay on Krav— Avitz— Avitz-kray!"

Taako heaved a sigh, drawing their eyes back to him. “Yeah, so, turns out? Kravitz is only alive by my mercy. He was my online boyfriend the whole time and kept it from me, and then he fucked off during work last night to play the music festival, zero notice.”

It still hurt even to lay it out that way, but. That was just how it worked when you fell for an asshole.

“What a bastard,” Merle muttered. “That’s damn rough, oof.”

"Oh, shit," Magnus agreed. "This is the guy who got on my case at your store, right? The hot goth one?"

"Yeah, that’s Kravitz. To be fair Maggie, you were doing your bull-in-a-china-shop routine," Merle said. He started pouring bright red liquid into each of the cups.

“What the fuck have you got here? Taako asked. “Cranberry juice? What are we doing here, Merle?”

"You should be thanking me! When you're my age, you have to watch out for bladder health. Also, kid, I just got a whiff of you and _phew."_

Magnus blinked. "Oh geez, _that's_ where the vodka smell is coming from. No wonder you look like shit."

“It’s...fine, I drank a glass of water,” Taako said dismissively. “And I’ll have you know that on my worst day I’m still an eight and a half, so.”

“Whatever you say.” Merle gave the full glass of water abandoned on the counter a pointed look. “You eaten breakfast yet?”

Taako shook his head no and scooted to block line-of-sight on the water glass.

"That's cool, I got it! Lup said you needed to eat." Magnus excitedly shoved his way past Taako and yanked open the fridge. "I'm seeing eggs, how about eggs? I scrambled some for Julia this morning and they came out great."

"Do something with this," Merle said, shaking another bottle. "I heard from Dav that this is Taako's preferred cooking sherry."

Were any of the bottles actually booze? Looked like the last one was lime simple syrup. Yeah, Taako would be drinking _that_ little treat straight. He started unscrewing the bottle.

"Sure, I can try mixing the sherry into the eggs," Magnus said.

Taako blanched. He was gonna do a murder. “No, no no, do _not,_ Mags, come on,” he pleaded.

“Just sit tight, kid. You look like hell, let us handle it,” Merle said.

"Hey, remember that thing on YouTube?" Magnus called, rummaging in the fridge. "With the rice?"

Merle hopped up on a kitchen chair. "You're gonna have to be more specific. The internet is a big place."

"It was like, rice— Yeah, there's the rice maker, of course you'd have one—" Magnus slammed the fridge shut and ran over to the counter. "It's like an egg pancake and rice in a bowl and you kind of flip it. And there's ketchup too, I'm pretty sure."

Merle propped his chin in his hands, beard draping onto the table. "Sure, sounds great. I say go for it. Sherry's like ketchup, right?"

“Guys, no, come on, do not do this food crime, stop,” Taako pleaded. He set the syrup aside with a thunk. “Eggs I can handle, stop touching every— Mags, put that _down.”_

Merle chuckled. “You sure? It sounded like Maggie knows a cool new recipe.”

Magnus's face lit up in a smile that said Taako was absolutely being fucked with. He turned to reveal the rice maker in two pieces in his hands. "You can help if you want! Do eggs still sound good?"

Taako sighed. “Eggs, yes, fine, put that down, I can— Let me deal with it,” he demanded. “I think there’s still some sausage, get that too.”

"Yessir." Magnus saluted and clicked the rice maker back together. "Sausage coming right up."

He plunged back into the fridge. Merle honked a laugh. "Nice of you to make us breakfast. Hey, Magnus, don't forget to give our gracious host your gift."

"Oh yeah!" Magnus's head popped back out of the fridge. He dug in his hoodie pocket. "I carved you a duck! It's got sunglasses like yours, see?"

Taako took the duck. He might cry. The teeny sunglasses looked exactly like his favorites, the ones he’d worn to that failed first date. He didn’t know Magnus had ever noticed them. He swept across the kitchen and pulled Magnus into a hug. “Thanks, my man.”

This was so sweet of the boys, coming and shaking him out of his funk. Their shenanigans already had him on track to eat something, who knew what next? Magnus enthusiastically returned the rare Taako hug, encircling him with those big, hairy arms until he had his fill and squirmed away. He put the duck in a place of honor on top of the breadbox, square in the middle of the counter.

Merle dug in a lower cupboard and pulled out a pan. “This one good for eggs?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Taako answered. “That one’ll work.” He put the pan on a burner and started heating it up.

The second they had him committed to cooking, the guys toned down their tomfoolery. Merle waddled around to corral the twins' hoarded dirty dishes into the sink and Magnus dug out some canned broth, half a carton of mushrooms, and a sack of flour. While Taako scrambled the eggs, he fried the sausage and stirred up a surprisingly competent gravy with the sherry.

Before long, the kitchen smelled and looked a lot nicer. Merle dragged a chair over to the window so he could clamber up and throw the curtains open, letting sunlight pour in.

"We should do this more often. I feel like it's been forever since we hung out," Magnus said. He pulled out three freshly washed plates and slid them across the counter to Taako.

Merle passed by the stove and patted the back of Taako's knee companionably. "Yeah kid, you let Brad keep you too busy. Just because that guy doesn't know how to take a break doesn't mean you gotta follow suit."

Taako rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, just...trying to get it off the ground. Brad said he’d be hiring someone soon, hopefully it’ll settle down with another person in there.” He started spooning fluffy eggs onto the plates.

“You’ll be old before your time otherwise, you’ll thank me one day. Where’s your forks?” Merle said. Taako pointed him to a drawer.

"I got it!" Magnus shouted, bounding over with his spatula brandished. "Wait, I shouldn't leave the stove unattended, shoot." He about-faced.

"Christ, settle down," Merle said. "I've got the silverware. You just work on not putting anyone's eye out with that thing."

"Roger," Magnus said. He scraped sausage and gravy onto plates. For a few moments, something almost like peace settled over Taako's kitchen.

Then Magnus opened his big mouth. "Hey, Taako? How'd you find out that Kravitz was your boyfriend this whole time?"

Taako threw down a dish towel and launched into it. “Okay, so! We got to the music festival, right? Had all the food ready, it took forever, and I was like, ‘let’s get this _done,_ I wanna go home, I’m tired’. He said he’d be right back, I figured he had to pee before the rush, fine!”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh,” Magnus said sympathetically, carting plates over to the table.

“So forty-five fucking minutes dragged on by, and they announced the next act, and he was _fucking part of it_ in this big stupid goth grim reaper cape, looking like an _idiot._ He came back and was all like, ‘oh I’m the worst, I’m sorry’. Yeah, my guy, _you are,_ I’ve been handling this rush _alone,_ just try and kill me why doncha! And _then_ he got weird and cryptic while I was chewing him out and just went ‘I’m him’. Like, fucking excuse me?” Taako exclaimed.

“Well that’s shitty start to finish,” Merle commented.

Taako threw his hands into the air. “Godsdamned right, _thank_ you, like what the _fuck?”_

"Wait, so he fessed up on his own, but in the shittiest way possible? Was this him dumping you?" Magnus asked.

“I— I don’t know? It didn’t seem like it, like if he was I would’ve figured he’d yell _back,_ y’know? I lost my shit on him maybe a little, yeah, it was kinda justified and kinda over the top, so I wouldn’t blame the guy. But I would’ve thought him ditching and dumping me would’ve gone like, ‘Fuck this job anyway and also I’m dumping you. Surprise, idiot, it’s me’,” Taako said frustratedly.

He yanked a chair out from the table and threw himself into it hard enough for the legs to come off the floor. “Lup thought he acted like _I_ was dumping _him,_ maybe, which like—how could I? I didn’t know he was my boyfriend! Because he didn’t _tell_ me!”

“Huh,” Merle said, thinking it over. “Yeah, that’s a whole mess.”

"I mean, Taako, if you were yelling at him, then I can see why he might think he was being dumped," Magnus said, scratching at his sideburns. He sat down and immediately shoveled a spoonful of sausage and gravy into his mouth.

"But—" Magnus swallowed his mouthful. "Okay, the thing is, I remember how happy this guy made you. We were kind of wondering what had you smiling at your phone all the time.”

Taako shrugged. “I told you eventually. It wasn’t anyone’s business but my own, okay?”

“Yeah, that’s fair. Buuuuut then he was a massive shithead. Like, why the fuck wouldn't he tell you who he was?"

“That’s the thing I can’t figure.” Taako took a sip of his cranberry juice. Thank the gods everything he drank tasted like key lime, or this would be a grossly sour experience. “He acted like I dragged it out of him, and he’s been acting weird since he didn’t tell me on our first date.”

“Are you talking about that bar lunch you thought your man didn’t show to, or the restaurant with Brad last Friday night?” Merle asked.

Huh. Yeah, playing pool had felt...kind of date-like. Taako toyed with the eggs on his plate. Kravitz would’ve known then, and he just let it happen. It seemed like he was having as much fun as Taako, really.

Taako shook his head and savagely speared a sausage piece. “Maybe he didn’t say anything because he was disappointed it was me. He’d text me stuff like ‘you don’t have to stay if we don’t click’...but he also _said_ he was sure he’d like me. But if he knew, and he _liked_ me, I just don’t get why he wouldn’t tell me?!”

Merle thoughtfully stirred his mushroom gravy. "I'm afraid I don't know the guy that well. How'm I supposed to guess what's going on in his head? He didn't seem like that big an asshole, but you never can tell with people. You were his 'online bee-eff', what do you think?"

"Hang on," Magnus said. "What do you mean you don’t know him that well? Weren't you rooting for them to get together? That sound familiar? 'Taakitz'? _Hmmm?"_

"Shut up and let Taako answer the question."

Taako systematically skewered all the sausage pieces on his plate. If he didn’t have something to do with his hands, all this introspection would get too overwhelming. “I don’t know, like. Hmmm...okay. Online, he was pretty darn sweet and supportive, and he was interesting, y’know? At work he was an absolute petty shit, until he knew, and then he kinda seemed like he was making an effort. I can’t figure out why he wouldn’t level with me about the performance—that doesn’t fit anywhere. Or why he wouldn’t just fess up in the bar like a normal person. We could’ve probably been fine, he knew I liked him.”

Merle nodded slowly. “Him fessing up at the bar woulda been easier, yeah,” he mused. “But I think I gotta remind you how much you hated him back then. It was all ‘Kravitz this, Kravitz that, you’ll never BELIEVE what that asshole at work said today.’ Am I ringing any bells?”

Taako made a noise like a frustrated tea kettle and rolled his sausage skewer through the mushroom gravy. He pushed down some bullshit thoughts put into his head by a certain teen detective. “He oughta know! I was always really nice to him, all texting him about his day and saying good night and good morning, that kind of thing. I never left _him_ on read!”

"Okay, buddy, but did you _tell_ him you liked him?" Magnus asked. He gestured with his fork. "Because I'm thinking, do you remember what a dumbass I was about Julia?"

Merle nodded sagely. "Ayup. Not forgetting that any time soon. Are we talking about the flowers or the TV or that time you went to the ER?"

Taako rolled his eyes and pretty much engulfed his sausage skewer in one gulp. The ER trip had been an entire mess. And Julia definitely didn’t appreciate the romantic gesture Magnus intended, in light of how many stitches he ended up needing.

Magnus stabbed his fork at Merle while Taako washed the sausage down with juice. "Hey, we could make this about your romantic failings!"

"Sure, I can make this about my romantic failings. You guys never really met Hekuba, but do you know what I did when I thought she was pissed at me? I’d let her storm off and then I’d hide like a coward! Thought it would help her cool down, you know? And it never once worked." Merle slammed back his cranberry juice like a shot and grabbed for the bottle.

Taako chuckled at Merle’s antics, then looked thoughtful. “Y’know, I really thought he knew I liked him. I always told him how sweet he was and all. He can absorb praise like a sponge, and that’s me saying it.”

Magnus and Merle leaned in while he chewed his lip and continued, “He must’ve known, but he acted like… Okay, he acted like he was suffering something worse than getting yelled at a little and I can’t figure why. And bad news on not running off, cause I for sure did that. He didn’t even come after me.”

The thought was depressing. Kravitz wasn’t trying, was the thing, didn’t even have the good sense to come after Taako when he stormed off. How was Taako supposed to know if he cared?

Maybe that was his answer. His eyes fucking stung for no good reason. The room was going kind of blurry.

Magnus and Merle made downturned frowny-faces at each other. They looked like alarmed muppets. It was like they thought he was _upset,_ but he was fine! He was coping.

"So!" Magnus shouted, after a painful pause. He shoved his chair back from the table. "You've got the day off work, Julia's covering for me, and I'm preeeetty sure Merle never does anything important with his time anyway—"

Merle toasted with his plastic Spongebob cup. "Fuck you too, buddy."

"My point is that we have the whole day to hang out!" Magnus rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Alright, what do you guys wanna do? I brought some DVDs, or we could go up to my place and get down on some Mario Kart, or I could just grab some puzzles and come back."

"And I brought weed," Merle declared, fishing a plastic baggie out of his cargo shorts.

“No, Merle!” Magnus yelped. Before their very eyes, Magnus morphed into an afterschool special and put on a wholesome-quarterback schtick. Him trying the 'responsible adult' thing as the baby in the room was wild. "Post-breakup substance abuse is a bad idea. For relaxing, I'm thinking we could try something more like yoga? I have a video of the routine I helped Carey make for our studio."

“That’s _exercise,”_ Taako moaned. “Gods, I need new _friends!”_

“Taako’s right, yoga’s too much work. Maggie, what else you got?” Merle asked, pocketing the weed.

"Uhhhh... Fantasy Disney Plus? One of those little wooden stress toy things to put together, if you let me take it apart real quick first? Merle, why aren't you more helpful?"

Merle grinned. "So far none of this is as good as weed."

"Godammit. I couuuuuuld... paint your nails?" Magnus produced a couple bottles of polish. "I almost forgot I had all this in these pants."

Now _that_ held promise. Having his nails done sounded relaxing and fun, two things he kinda needed. He’d be fine, natch, after all he was _Taako,_ he just had to finish squashing those bad feelings first. And get in on that dope maroon Magnus was holding. “Nails, yes, okay, now we’re talking,” he declared. “Let’s get these dishes outta the way.”

Merle lightly smacked Magnus in the lumbar region, about as high as he could reach. “You heard the elf, let’s do it.”

"I've got the dishes!" Magnus said, haphazardly stacking them with rattles and clinks aplenty. "You guys find somewhere to get comfy."

"I'm not helping out if you break anything," Merle warned. He headed to the couch, which was completely buried under the twins' ever-expanding collection of blankets and throw pillows. (Look, warmth was good. They were adults, and if they wanted a monument to plush in their living room, they were gonna make it happen.) Merle started unceremoniously shoveling all of it onto the floor.

"Hey, save some of those! I like the furry pink ones," Magnus called.

"You sure about that? Taako's gonna kill you if you get paint on his shit." Merle continued yanking layers of blankets from the couch. "Hey, what've we got here?" He fished in the cushions.

Magnus galloped from the sink to the couch for a look. "Wait, holy fuck, what's that?"

Merle followed his pointing finger to the gruesome, disfigured mannequin head gracing the top of the TV. Lup had given it a bobbed wig for flair. That covered up the worst pock marks around the jaw, which could theoretically help the aesthetic, but it was the squashed, bubbling nose, massive chin, and soulless eyes that did the work.

"Hell if I know," Merle said, holding up a wrapped condom. "But I sure hope this isn't related. Something you wanna tell us, Taako?"

“Jesus Fantasy Christ,” Taako muttered, rolling his eyes. “They’re both Lup’s. The head’s for her dead people makeup class, the condom—like obviously you guys know what’s up, I’m gonna make her Lysol this whole place.”

“Ahhh, yeah, only related by ownership then,” Merle said, nodding sagely. “That’s probably fine.”

He flicked the condom into the pillow pile. Gross, old man! But that could be a problem for later Taako to demand that Lup clean up. Magnus whistled. "Get it, Lup. Are we gonna meet her boyfriend soon? You've met the guy, right?"

“Yeah, he keeps buzzing around the booth on festival nights,” Taako said. “Came to the beach with us too. He’s nauseatingly sweet, looks at her like he’d die for her. And she’s always hanging off him like she’s going for the gold in PDA. First time he came over here, the ‘studying’ lasted like ten minutes before she turned on some Hozier and put the moves on the boy.” He laughed a little.

Merle chuckled. “Sis knows what she wants. Good for her.”

Taako settled in on the couch. “Hopefully she introduces you guys soon, you’d probably like him. I was kinda hoping I’d get something like they have, but...” He shrugged dejectedly.

"Aw, buddy." Magnus dropped the bottles of polish on the table and sat down next to Taako. "You will, I promise. We’ll work this out. Hug?" He threw open his arms.

“Yeah,” Taako allowed, going into the hug. Magnus was a big old exception to his general look-but-don’t-touch policy. And Lup. And Merle. And Davenport. And Julia and Angus. Barry was gonna get there, sooner rather than later, he figured. Maybe there’d be room for others at some point. 

He’d hoped that Trautonium—Kravitz, but, well... Apparently he didn’t want a spot on the hug list. That was Kravitz’s loss, but Taako was still feeling pretty acutely—and absurdly—that it was also Taako’s loss.

“Alright, lemme in on the group hug,” Merle said, kneeling up on the couch and wrapping his arms around them.

"This is nice, guys," Magnus declared. He squirmed a little in place to get comfortable. "Remember how great you were to me when I was being an idiot over Julia?"

Merle snorted and patted Magnus on the back. "You're still an idiot over Julia."

“Yeah, no, my dude, you still are,” Taako agreed with a little chuckle. “But you guys are nauseatingly happy. How do you do it? Like, clearly the answer isn’t ‘don’t be an idiot ever’.”

"Thank god for that," Magnus said, relaxing the hug. "I'd be screwed. Really, though, the secret is to trust. Like, I know she would never hurt me on purpose, and I'd never, ever want to hurt her. But accidents happen, and you shouldn’t assume you always know how your partner is feeling. Sometimes you need to ask. When it comes to us, I just gotta remember that she loves me and we both wanna fix things. We talk it out, you know?"

"That works fine when the love is actually there," Merle said, sitting back down heavily. "Let me tell you, just talking things out with Hekuba didn't work. But we did a lot more screaming than talking."

Taako considered this. He had been pretty sure he was falling in love with Trautonium_Corvid. He was just trying not to be a dumbass, and hold out 'til they'd met. Meanwhile, Kravitz had acted like someone who loved Taako should act—at least online, and a couple times in person too.

He wasn't sure about that love now, though. That might be why it hurt so much to find out this way, but really...really, the thing was, he didn’t think he was upset that his online boyfriend turned out to be Kravitz. His emotions seemed surprisingly okay with that.

It was that Kravitz hadn't told him anything, not about his identity or performing at the festival, and then hadn't spoken to him since.

No, yeah, there it was. He figured it out. Kravitz wasn't _trying._ That was the worst part. Kravitz didn't engage or defend or fight back or follow. He'd seemed so invested on Grindr, but he'd given up somewhere along the line in person. And he'd promised Taako he wasn't gonna fucking _do_ that.

"What do you do if they don't wanna talk or even yell, though?" he asked. "What then?"

"Then screw him," Merle said soothingly.

Magnus reached around and flicked Merle’s forehead. "How about, first, you _ask_ him to talk? Cuz it sounds to me like you're not ready to dump him yet. And you’re the one who stormed off, so I can guess why he probably hasn’t texted you."

“Yeah, I at least wanna...he did this before, after the date,” Taako recalled. “Maybe he’s sulking cuz I yelled at him and he’ll come back and explain.” 

He reached for his phone. This was a good idea, he could just find out from the source, right? Or maybe...if Kravitz didn’t wanna talk, it was because Taako was too mean to him, and he could promise not to be too much next time and then Kravitz would put up with him and then it would be _fine._

"Or you could sit on texting your maybe-ex until after I do your nails," Magnus said, pushing Taako's phone down with one finger. "Don't rush into it."

Merle chuckled. "Well, look who’s talking! But Maggie's right. What're you planning to say to the guy?"

"You need a gameplan," Magnus agreed, twisting the cap off the maroon polish. "And also, maybe we should sit on the floor and use the coffee table for this. No offense, but you're not _super_ great at holding still, and I don't wanna wreck your upholstery."

Taako slid to the floor. “I could text him— Like okay, you guys know how I get, maybe I was too bitchy… Maybe, if I don’t yell at him anymore, we can make up. He can explain, and everything will work out and I won’t have to give up on men forever, y’know?”

He could hear the way he sounded, kinda pathetic to be honest. He wasn’t quite sure how _not_ to, though, with his emotions alternately frazzling like bacon and deflating like a ruined souffle. He only knew he was growing more and more certain that this whole fight was probably his fault. It usually was.

Merle gave Taako a look and plucked the phone from his hand. “I’ll hold onto this for you until you’re sure you won’t say something you’ll regret.”

“Good call.” Magnus said. He kicked the pillow pile aside. "As much as I love Lup, I'm not sitting on any of this until it gets cleaned."

“I don’t blame you, I’m gonna make her wash it all,” Taako snorted. 

Magnus sat down opposite him and made grabby hands across the coffee table. "Gimme your nails, let's see the damage before I unpack all that bullshit you said a second ago."

Taako reached across the table and let Magnus take his hands. “They’re a little rough, I made a lot of dessert this week.”

The nails thing was a _ploy._ Magnus firmly clasped Taako’s hands and stared searchingly into his eyes, as if he hadn't already exceeded his intimacy quota for the day with the group hug. "Taako. You're like, my best friend."

"Ouch," Merle said. "What'm I, chopped liver?"

"Shhhh. Now, Taako, I wasn't there. Maybe you did get kind of bitchy with Kravitz. But he was, you know, _lying_ to you about his identity. I thiiiink he should understand why you would be angry about that."

Taako’s eyes narrowed. He tugged his hands back, but Magnus didn’t let up. Oh, for fuck’s sake, he fell for it. Now Mags was gonna get all feelsy when Taako’d already figured out the problem and just needed to try— “Come on, Mags,” he whined, “you always do this. Gimme back my phone, Merle, I’ma text him—“

Merle slid the phone into the back pocket on his cargo shorts, a place Taako definitely wouldn’t put his hands anywhere near. “Nope. You were saying, Maggie?”

Magnus gamely wrenched Taako's hands back to the center of the coffee table. "I don't think you should text him right now, because it sort of sounds like your plan is to grovel and forgive him for everything? Just like that? He hurt you too!"

“That’s not— No, he fucked up, it’s not— I’m not just gonna— I don’t know,” Taako admitted with a huff. “It’s not like that… It’s just, what if, you know...maybe it’s not worth the headache to make him jump through hoops?”

"Wait, let me check if I understand where you're coming from—" Magnus squeezed Taako's hands even tighter. "Instead of telling him that he really hurt you by lying, and that you're not even sure if he _likes_ you, you just wanna let him off the hook?"

"Dealing with your boyfriend's hurt feelings isn't a hoop to jump through, kid," Merle put in. "Any relationship that can be broken by asking for respect isn't worth being in."

“Okay, but you gotta let me text him if I’m gonna ask him for respect that way, I gotta—come on, Magnuuuuus,” Taako whined, pulling harder. “You’re gonna make a mess and I’ll be pissed, leggo!”

"Whoah, careful!" Magnus said, eyes darting to the open bottle of nail polish. Still, he didn't give Taako _his fucking arms back._ "Look, there is literally no rush to text him. He should be at work right now. Let's just think about this for a second. What do you want from Kravitz? Because a few minutes ago you weren't one hundred percent positive you even wanted to date him, and now it sounds like you want to _beg him_ to date you!"

Taako blew his bangs out of his face and slumped forward to rest his chin on his upper arms. “I just… I want him back to the way he was online. I want him to reassure me that he’s the guy I thought he was. I don’t wanna lose him, but he said he meant to tell me and I don’t get why he didn’t. Maybe this is all one big misunderstanding. It’s not like he fucked with Lup or something unforgivable. I’m the only one who’s hurt here.”

Merle nodded slowly and unconvincingly. “You’re gonna have to give me a minute to catch up with all that, kid,” he said.

Magnus looked thoughtful. "It sounds like you're not sure whether he's good boyfriend material, which is pretty understandable, with how he lied to you for almost two weeks. But texting him that you're fine with all that is a really bad way to figure out if he's an asshole or not. Also, if I let you go, will you still let me paint your nails?"

“I’ll—yeah, you can paint ‘em, I really like that maroon,” Taako conceded. He chewed his lip as he mentally reviewed some of the words that came out of his mouth over the past few minutes. He’d said a lot, and not all of it was stuff he’d realized was bouncing around in his skull.

Guess he needed this day off more than he knew. He’d been on his grind since starting at Far Corners, pretty much going nonstop for a month. Between working fifty hours a week and helping Angus and picking up chores so Lup could study, when did he have the time to digest his thoughts? Fuckin’ never. Who knew, maybe if he hadn’t been stretched so thin, he could’ve figured Kravitz out on his own.

Magnus turned his hands over. "Fair warning, your nails are beat to shit and your cuticles are gross. I can totally tell you cook for a living. I'll do my best, but I don't have like, real tools here." He released Taako and fished a swiss army knife out of his pocket. "I promise I won't fuck it up _too_ bad."

"Just don't chop anything off that can bleed," Merle suggested with a laugh. "Hey, Taako, how much do you and Kravitz normally talk? Has he texted you since last night? Given you any idea about what's rustling his jimmies?"

“No, Mags called it. Radio silence, like that time after he saw me at Moon’s,” Taako said.

Magnus wiped off Taako's nails and started shoving some blunt metal implement up against his cuticles. Ow. “I uh, don't want to make you feel bad here, but are you sure he...likes you? You're likeable!" he added hastily.

Maybe a few minutes earlier Taako would’ve said something different, but his head was feeling a lot clearer now. “Y’know, I really think he might. Even after he found out who I was. Cuz he said a bunch of stuff that didn't make sense at the time, about how he would still care for me no matter what, and if I didn't like him I could go, no hard feelings, or we could be friends. But it was—it was kind of like he was trying to cushion himself from disappointment. It was kind of like he was…”

Afraid. Exactly as Angus had guessed, and told Taako to remember.

Magnus swept the first streak of polish over the center of Taako's thumbnail. "Well, I think the big problem here is that you can’t really tell what he's thinking or feeling. How're you supposed to know where he's coming from if he's been lying to you about who he is? Cuz what he said there could've been him trying to let you down easy."

Merle smoothed his beard down and leaned in with his elbows on his knees. "Or maybe, just maybe, all the stuff you yelled at him made him think you didn’t like him."

Magnus nodded and carefully applied another streak of polish. "Yeah, the fact that you've already fought this much doesn’t bode well for a relationship."

“Yeah— Wait, hold on,” Taako said suddenly as an idea seized him. “I just need to find out, right? I need to find what he’s thinking, if he cares, all of it. Angus’ll be in there for deliveries, he’s probably there now. This can be a case for the boy detective! Merle, gimme my phone.”

"Hey, that's not a bad idea." Merle scratched his beard thoughtfully.

"Woah, hang on, I literally just started your nails." Magnus said. "Can you wait until this dries?"

"Nah, the kid'll be gone by then." Merle shook his head. He pulled Taako’s phone out and swiped to unlock it. This was the dwarf who couldn't figure out his own voicemail, how was he breaking into Taako's phone?! "What d'you want to say?"

This could work. He could find out what was going on with Kravitz without the risk of breaking down and being pathetic, or assuming all the blame, or handwaving his own hurt...or losing his cool and yelling again. Angus was the world’s greatest boy detective. If anyone could pull this off, it would be him.

“Tell him—tell him I need to know whether Krav likes me, that way he—that’s like kids understand, right, ‘does he like me?’” Taako said.

Merle snorted. "Do you want me to put that on paper in glitter pen, with little boxes he can check 'yes' or 'no'?"

Magnus angled the brush away and patted Taako's hand. "Yeah, buddy, I think I'm sensing some self-esteem issues. Are you _okay?"_

Taako forced a chuckle, a little snorted thing. “I’m _Taako,”_ he said, as though that answered anything. “Why wouldn’t I be okay? I’ve always been okay before, I’m fine.”

“Howdya spell ‘investigate’? I-N-V-E-S-T-A— Hey, it did it by itself!” Merle broke in.

"You've also never been in a long term relationship before, and I think you're getting hung up on that." Magnus gestured with the polish brush. "You know this isn't your only shot, right? There's plenty of fish in the sea."

"Says the guy who's marrying his high school girlfriend," Merle said. "Angus says he's still at the shop."

“I’d—he’d be lucky! To have me long-term, y’know, but—you saw how hot he is, right? He calls me ‘love’— He’s gonna be a _conductor,_ that’s the sexiest thing I can think of, where’m I gonna find another _conductor?”_ Taako blurted. “There can’t be that many of that particular fish out there, my dude, especially when there’s only one _Taako!”_ He bounced his knee agitatedly where it sat crossed on the carpet. “What else did Ango say?”

"Huh," Merle said, lifting the phone up to his face. "Looks like Angus knew."

“He _what?_ What do you mean he _knew?_ Lemme see—” Magnus smacked Taako’s wrist for almost making the polish bottle tip with his squirming. _”Gods,”_ he moaned.

Of course the kid knew, he knew everything. This must mean he’d tracked down Kravitz from his Grindr handle. Why hadn’t Taako done that? He felt like an idiot. Angus had even hinted—was that the secret case he had? Fuck’s sake.

“Ask him to ask Krav about last night, but like, sneaky-wise,” Taako said. “What the fuck was up with that concert?”

"Taako-wants-to-know-if-Kravitz-likes-him," Merle enunciated, painstakingly tapping out each letter.

Taako tried to twist around and glare over his shoulder. “Don’t just spell it out like that! You can be subtle, he’s a detective!”

"Hold still for real, I'm not done with this hand," Magnus insisted.

Merle crossed his hairy ankles. "Hey, someone around here needs to give you a kick in the pants. Angus says he's sorry for not telling you, but he made Kravitz promise he was gonna, and he didn't feel right inserting himself as an 'inter-med-iary'. He's been sending practically a whole essay about direct, face-to-face communication being important. I can see him typing away still. Anyway, what else do you want me to have him ask Kravitz for ya?"

“Ask him—ask him if Krav’s mad,” Taako said. That seemed like a good place to start. Kravitz hadn’t _yelled,_ so what was up there? Apathy? Apology? And was a literal child lecturing him about his dating life right now?

Maybe. He needed the same literal child to get the dirt on his potential-ex-internet-paramour though, so. Whatever, it was fine.

"Lup says she's glad you ate," Merle said. "She's gonna come home after classes ASAP."

Oh gods, this was the worst. Why did he think having Merle mediate would be a good idea? Fuck, at this rate it would be less painful to ask Kravitz himself. Taako groaned theatrically. “Stop getting sidetracked, old man!”

"What are you gonna do if Kravitz is mad?" Magnus asked. His tongue poked out between his teeth in concentration as he applied more polish.

Taako canted his ears, one up and one down. “If he’s mad...if he’s just mad cause I yelled at him, that’s kinda valid. I can tell him sorry for that part. And then he can be sorry for _everything else_, and we’ll see if his explanation’s good enough.”

Magnus was quiet for a while, concentrating as he evened out the polish on Taako's pinky finger. "You know..." he began carefully. "I get that you really want Kravitz to like you. I get why you think he's special."

"And he is pretty handsome," Merle agreed.

"Yeah, those cheekbones. But I guess what I'm trying to say is that you seem really invested in this, but you sure as shit don't seem _happy._ It's not okay if he makes you feel like shit. It's definitely not okay that he lied to you. I promise you that he isn't the only hot guy in the city— Why do you want this to work out so bad?"

Taako took a deep breath. That was a horrible idea, considering everything smelled like nail polish. The inside of his nose burned almost as much as his eyes now. “What if he’s the only one who’ll put up with me? You said there’s other fish in the sea, yeah, that’s fine, but maybe they won’t bite. I want what you guys have...but maybe he’s as good as it gets.”

Gods, that hurt to say, but it was true. He might be staring down the death of his last chance. And what would happen when Lup— Surely she and Barry would wanna move in together someday, if things kept going well. Months, a year or two down the line...

Taako took a ragged breath. “I don’t wanna be alone.”

"You're not ever gonna be alone, kid." Merle leaned over and put a hand on Taako's shoulder. "For one, you're not getting rid of us that easy. Or Lup!"

Magnus actually looked upset. "Yeah, Taako, c'mon. You shouldn't feel like Kravitz is your only shot. It's not about being put up with, it's about being with someone who actually loves you!"

"Trust me, it's better to be single than in a bad relationship,” Merle said. “You're a great guy, and if you haven't found someone good enough for you, someone who appreciates you yet, so what? C'mon, you're _Taako."_

Taako laughed a little. “Yeah, I am! And you guys...I couldn’t get rid of you if I _tried._ I could— I could change my name and move and you'd still probably hunt me down.”

He sobered slightly, turning his finished hand over to examine how well the maroon dressed up the dents in his nails. “Let me be honest here… I like Kravitz. That’s the other bit—he’s… He can be so _kind._ He’s a dork about music, he eats trash on the reg but he goes nuts for good food, and he’s got this way he expresses himself, like his emotions are fuckin’ huge like mine, except he can somehow always find words for them. Even though half the time he ends up sounding like he’s from some fuckin' ancient BBC series.”

Taako let his ears droop. “Before all this, I thought he wasn’t holding anything back. I thought he always knew what to say to me... I hope we can figure it out. Did Angus reply yet?”

"Yeah, a few times," Merle said, unconcerned. "Basically, he says that Kravitz isn't mad at you.”

"Hey, that's something!" Magnus exclaimed. "But should you be mad at him?"

“I kinda still am,” Taako admitted. “He kept me in the dark on purpose, that's not cool. ...Ask Ango if Krav wants to talk to me or if he just wants to...not that.”

He stared down at the coffee table, his ears twitching at Merle's clumsy finger-tapping behind him. What would he do if Kravitz didn’t want to see him?

If Kravitz didn’t know or care he liked him...if that’s why he wanted to break things off… Fuck, that would hurt. Taako thought he might have Angus tell him, just to be sure he knew, even if the apology wouldn’t get him anything. Because the idea of Kravitz hurting… Yeah. That was no good either.

Eventually, Merle spoke up. “Angus says he thinks you guys should still do your Saturday date. Kravitz assumed you were callin’ it off, and he was real bummed about it.”

Taako’s ears shot straight up. “Oh shit, I don’t think we made concrete plans, what should… I dunno, uh, drinks again? Is that too date-date? Is this a date, or are we just apologizing and splitting, or…?”

“Soooo, you definitely want to meet up with Kravitz. Can we just stick a pin in that, so we don’t forget how you feel in two minutes?” Magnus laughed. “You guys should pick something that won’t be awkward if things go south. Something public, probably?”

Merle slapped his knee. “Hey, here’s an idea: Dav’s got a go-kart race at the fun center tomorrow. Me and Mookie were gonna go with to watch, but making him sit still is a pain in the ass. How about you guys tag along and take Mookie off my hands?”

Magnus squinted suspiciously. "That's not a _terrible_ idea, but it kind of sounds like you just want free babysitting."

"No, really! It’ll be great, there’s an arcade and mini golf and a buffet and shit, plenty to do there. Besides, do you guys have a better idea? Because the kid said Kravitz refused to tell him anything about your plans, or what all you’ve texted each other about doing for fun." Merle waggled his eyebrows.

Magnus picked up on Merle's expression and turned a knowing smile on Taako. "Yeah, what _did_ you think you were gonna do when you met up tomorrow?"

“We hadn’t really planned—like the first time, we tried to just get beers at a bar, just real casual. I was gonna text him last night, kinda just...see where it goes— Okay, you guys, I get it, I know what you’re thinking,” Taako said, rolling his eyes. Yeah, so maybe he’d hoped they might fall into bed, if things went really well. That was off the table. “Fine. What time’s the race?”

“Starts at ten, Dav’s gotta be there at eight-thirty,” Merle answered, thumbs poised over the phone’s keyboard.

“Early, okay,” Taako said. “Yeah, see if he’ll do it.”

"I'll have Dav ask him. The place is out of town, he'll need a ride. Besides, Angus took off a while ago," Merle said, clearly pleased. He was probably just excited to foist Mookie off on someone else for the day.

Still, big public venue, family-friendly atmosphere... Yeah, not a bad place to get to know someone, without the pressure of explicit, romantic expectations.

Magnus capped the nail polish. "Maybe Julia and me should go too? Make it a double date?"

Merle waved a hand. "Nah, give ‘em some space, it'll be fine. If things get too awkward, Taako can just take Mookie mini golfing or something. Or dump him on Kravitz and hide in the bathroom."

"Wow, isn't he your _child?"_ Magnus scoffed. "Isn't Kravitz a _near-stranger?"_

Merle waved his hand dismissively. “Eh, he seems like a softie, and Brad trusts him with the shop. It’s fine.”

“We’ll keep an eye on your monster,” Taako said. Yeah, it would be fine. They’d just...talk. Gods, talking was hard, but they were gonna have to. He was pretty sure he could keep from yelling at Kravitz in the middle of a minigolf course, and if Kravitz couldn’t keep his cool... Well, then. That would be some very interesting information, a confirmation of some hopefully-baseless worries. He’d just have to see.

"If you end up needing an out, you can call for help, right?" Magnus asked. _"Right,_ Merle?"

"Yeah, sure," Merle agreed flippantly. "If Kravitz turns out to be an ax murderer or the grim reaper or something, then you can come watch the race with me. I'll save you a seat in the stands."

“Coolio, I’ll call if I need you. Me and Kravitz will just have to talk like grown people, I guess, and figure out what we wanna do,” Taako replied.

"Also, like, Taako?" Magnus started. "Maybe you should ask him more questions about how he feels. About, you know, a relationship. Instead of relying on this guy." He jerked a thumb at Merle.

Merle stuck out his tongue. "Taako can read all of Angus's messages himself in a second. Is that polish dry yet?"

"Not yet, but we could put on a movie or something while we wait. Does that sound good?"

“Yeah, sure.” Taako rolled his shoulders under the blanket cape. It was almost feeling like time for a real shirt. “We can watch whatever, the remote’s over there and there’s Netflix— Merle, give that to Maggie, for fuck’s sake, you’re holdin’ it backwards.”

Taako barely paid attention to the sitcom trash the boys ended up settling on, striking a balance between Magnus’s affection for romcoms and Merle’s affinity for old people shows. Instead, he blew on his wet nails as he carefully scrolled back through Merle and Angus’s conversation, reading and re-reading.

Finally, he flipped to Grindr. He allowed himself to send just one line: **you should know I liked you, you jerk.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw, look at that little baby step towards emotional reciprocity. Better pick up the pace Taako, there's a lot of baggage to help carry if you and Krav are gonna make this work.
> 
> The THB's dynamic is my favorite thing, or else I probably wouldn't have listened to all of TAZ. Writing a chapter chock full of their shenanigans was a blast. Plus, more supportive male friendships 2k20!


	25. Maybe this time/10 yes or no questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is this a date? Isn't it a date? Well, regardless of the romantic status of Taakitz, it's time for the FUNZONE!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got a question: who's babysitting whom here?

The Goldcliff Family Fun Center was a fantastic megaplex of interactive, safe play activities. Or so the signs said. Kravitz had never been before, and his anxiety saw him slouching at a picnic table outside the entrance long after Davenport purchased him and Taako tickets and departed to prepare for the race.

The drive had been... Well, awkward. But that was entirely Kravitz's fault. Davenport tried to initiate smalltalk, but Kravitz was too preoccupied by his impending fate. His mind kept replaying disjointed scenes of how Taako might react to him, what he could say or do to break the tension, and all his past mistakes. Even now he was digging his fingers into the mesh tabletop, practically vibrating from head to toe.

When Angus said he thought Kravitz and Taako should go through with their date, he laughed bitterly. After Taako's absence at work, he was sure they'd never have a comfortable moment again.

But Taako wanted to see him. Taako wanted him along to help babysit on a family outing, of all things. There was never any question of him missing this. If Taako wanted to meet for a soirée in the sewers, he'd show up early in a tie.

The question remained whether this was any kind of date. Or whether Taako was still angry.

Taako would be arriving with Merle after they picked up Mookie. Davenport explained that Mavis wasn't coming; she was about to start college, and thus felt definitively too old for this sort of thing. Kravitz had never met either child.

Kravitz had never met Taako as his whole, undisguised self. He was terrified down to his bones. He cast frequent glances towards the entrance, unable to concentrate on anything until Taako walked in. The rest of the crowd slipped past his notice.

He probably looked like some kind of creeper, garbed in black and hanging out alone amidst all these happy families. Taako had been right to criticize his gargoyle routine, but he couldn't help it. Black just looked too good on him to pass up.

And, finally, there was Taako, stepping out of a bright green Nissan Cube with uncommon grace. He spotted Kravitz immediately, his ears flicking up. Before Kravitz could get a read on his expression, he turned back to release Mookie from his booster seat prison.

“Hey! Is that Krav?” Mookie demanded, waving a chubby finger. He was what, ten now? But way less baked than Angus was at that age. Dwarf kids were tiny, and this one was basically a puffball of pure energy under a poof of dandelion hair. When Angus was ten, he could hold an actual fuckin’ conversation. Mookie still ate rocks, which was maybe not as normal a dwarf thing as Merle pretended.

Merle snorted at Mookie’s antics, instead of contributing anything helpful, like telling his kid to cut the wriggling out. “Yeah, yeah, calm down,” Taako drawled. “That’s the guy, c’mon, let me just get this buckle here.” Kravitz stuck out like a sore thumb with his goth outfit, and—Taako felt a little less reluctant to admit now—also because he was hot.

"Bye, Dad!" Mookie yelled exuberantly. He somehow forced the child lock open and was tumbling out onto the pavement before Taako could blink.

Taako rolled his eyes. This was feeling less and less like a fun idea and more and more like a migraine in the making. He abandoned Merle and herded the kid over to Kravitz. "Hey, you made it. Krav, this is Mookie; Mookie, Kravitz, be good or he'll eat you.”

Kravitz opened and closed his mouth. "Um, yes, I will," he said, going along with the joke a little too late to be effective.

Mookie paid him no mind. Kravitz didn't know what he was expecting. _He_ was the picture of maturity and thoughtfulness at that age, but he remembered the other children had been terrifying hellions, spurred to absurd antics by unknowable whims. Mookie wheeled in place, eyes wide with wonder beneath his untamed hair. "I got my wristband I wanna win a skateboard!" he abruptly declared, shoving his hand at Kravitz's face. "Let's go!"

Yes, there was the bright yellow plastic wristband, and there were a lot of grubby fingers waving not an inch from Kravitz's nose. He reared back and shot Taako an alarmed look. "Is Merle not coming in?"

“He’s heading over to talk to Dav before the— Mookie, come on, my dude, seriously?” Taako exclaimed. The little rugrat was literally dancing circles around the two of them.

Mookie hipchecked the table on a bounce and nearly went down. He recovered and continued his rampage. Kravitz looked alarmed. Taako shrugged. This was their day now, maybe best to let the kid burn the energy off.

“Anyway, we’ve got this one and all this to entertain him with, I guess. We can handle it,” Taako finished, gesturing broadly. Mookie bolted for the front doors and they both hurried after him.

Taako certainly looked ready to spend the day chasing a kid around. Accessories aside, he was in athletic shorts and sensible shoes. Kravitz wished he owned sneakers that weren't completely ratty.

He snuck glances at Taako while they wound through the crowd in the lobby and traded their tickets for wristbands. Taako didn't look upset. He didn't look like he'd spent yesterday crying, as Kravitz had. There was no readable indication of his thoughts at all. Their easy intimacy had vanished, exactly as Kravitz feared.

This outing was likely an olive branch. Kravitz would take it. If Taako was willing to let him down easy and remain cordial afterwards, it was more than he deserved. They would see each other at work daily. Maybe they would even talk. Eventually, the rough edges of the space he'd cleared for Taako in his life would be worn down, and he wouldn't spend so much time obsessing over what might have been, had he done things differently. Had he not screwed up.

It was just a bit lonely, not having anyone to talk to during his evenings. Wondering how Taako was feeling whenever he let his mind wander.

"I think we should—" Before he could suggest a diversion for Mookie, the boy collided with an occupied stroller. Kravitz winced. "Mookie! Watch where you're going! I'm so sorry, ma'am."

The toddler inside the stroller seemed oblivious to the whole thing and the mother waved them off. Mookie sullenly skulked back over to Kravitz, who took the boy's hand firmly. It was, as he'd assumed, quite sticky.

“Yeah, we need to get this kid something to do, pronto.” Taako racked his brain for a good place to start with Kravitz. He couldn’t hide behind keeping an eye on Mookie all day—well, he could _try_, but that was kinda the opposite of the point. He also couldn’t just burst out with a solid “What the fuck is your problem?”, even if that would probably open the subject pretty efficiently.

He just hated the way Kravitz kept staring at him and then not saying anything.

And now he was just gonna stand there looking hot and holding a child’s hand, unfuckingbelievable how unfairly cute that was. Alright.

“Sooooo, guess we...finally managed a date, huh?” Taako said, trying for light. They were gonna have _fun,_ dates were _fun._

Kravitz's eyebrows flew up. "This is a date?"

"No," Mookie declared, yanking on his hand. "That's boring! I wanna play skeeball, c'mooooon, skeeball!" He twisted in Kravitz's grip and bolted, forcing Kravitz to pirouette like he was tripping over a dog leash as he stumbled to follow. Gods, there's an idea. A leash of some kind might make this situation more manageable.

Taako darted after them and caught Mookie’s other hand. “Dude, Mookie, simmer down, we can do skeeball, but let’s be civilized, alright?” 

Together, they arrested Mookie’s forward momentum until his little legs were pumping at a far more manageable pace. Taako turned his attention back to Kravitz. “I mean...” he fumbled.

This was a date, right? Broadly speaking? They planned to meet each other on this day, that was what people said, this day, this time, ‘it’s a date’, but also...yeah? “It’s not _not_ one, right? It kinda is? Like we did plan it to be originally, it’s just...a different way than we thought. Maybe, I don’t know.”

"I-I..." Kravitz stammered, turning over the ramifications in his head. Yesterday, despite Angus's patient optimism, he'd been ready to throw in the towel. Today, letting himself be dragged out of his apartment to see Taako—things might actually be... Taako was... Taako didn't _not_ want this to be a date? Despite everything? Taako wasn't utterly disappointed by him, after insisting his confession was a sick joke?

He swallowed hard and tried again. "I'm very glad we went through with our plans. Meeting like this was...overdue. And, yesterday, I... I missed you."

The softening expression on Taako’s face morphed immediately into alarm as Mookie cried “Swing me!” and collapsed his legs.

Somebody was gonna pop a shoulder. Kravitz braced his feet to take more of Mookie’s weight and helped Taako drag him back up. “Warn us first, kid! Jeezy creezy,” Taako complained. He shot Kravitz a look over Mookie’s head, his ears tilted forward. “You for real missed me? I kinda thought you’d be mad I went off on you.”

Being missed was promising, that was much better than expected. Taako had been furious when Kravitz had called out, so he’d kinda thought the same might be true in reverse. Instead, Angus was right.

Well, fuck, of course Angus was right; he always was, and it was infuriating.

Kravitz was being soft. Kind and sweet, more like the TC that Taako knew online. This could be good, maybe?

Mookie pulled insistently at Taako’s hand, still clamoring to be swung. “Mookie, stop—dude, we’re gonna have to swing him or he’s just gonna keep doing this,” Taako said.

"Be careful with your legs," Kravitz warned. He helped Taako heft Mookie—the boy was deceptively heavy, for being so small—and gently swung him between them as they approached the utterly tacky, space-themed carpet that demarcated the 'FunZone Arcade'.

Mookie was not careful with his legs. Mookie brayed laughter and swung wildly at passersby. "Okay, it's time to put you down," Kravitz declared. "Can you stay calm while we get you tokens, or whatever you need to play?"

"Got my wristband!" Mookie shouted, and peeled off towards the skeeball machines.

Once Kravitz judged that Mookie was in fact going to _stay_ there, where he could be watched, he snuck another glance at Taako. "I can't say I enjoyed being yelled at, but... I deserved it. I'd known you'd be mad. I gave you a lot of reasons to be mad. I really am sorry."

Taako shrugged one shoulder. “Yeah, well. Didn’t need to yell, probably. Probably coulda just handled it better. Mighta tried being professional, even. I didn’t wanna hurt your feelings. I’m sorry too.”

He paused a moment, watching Mookie go completely feral on the skeeball game. Overhand throws, really? Next he was gonna try climbing the machine. “Did you for real text a rando that you were gonna play a music festival real quick, be right back? Cuz that’s a buckwild text to get from an unknown number, tell you that.”

Kravitz was so caught off-guard in his elation at receiving an apology—at the revelation Taako cared he’d been hurt—that he laughed. "I think it was a bad night for professionalism all around, and yes. She has the same area code as you, apparently. I transposed two numbers. You're in my phone as a contact now...if that's alright?"

“I mean, if it’ll help _that_ not happen again, I’m all for it. Unless you plan on sending me gig information outta left field on Grindr.” Taako gave a short laugh.

Well, now he’d gone and said that, may as well continue. “Sooo...it was gonna be today, huh? Confession time? Cuz no offense, but the funzone here is a way better plan than what you went with. I don’t run your life, but oofa doofa.” He gave Kravitz a sort of wry smirk.

"I had reached the conclusion that you would never want anything to do with me again either way, so I decided to just...rip the bandaid off," Kravitz replied, somehow smiling. "Besides, in the end, I agree with Angus. I shouldn't have put it off in the first place." By the lady, it felt good to confess that.

Taako tilted his head and regarded Kravitz with complete confusion. He thought _what?_ That Taako wouldn’t want anything to do with him, ever? He couldn’t begin to imagine how that could be the case after all the stuff they’d been texting, especially when it was clear that Taako was sort of the guest in the relationship anyway.

“Wait, that was the problem? I kinda figured you didn’t want to have anything to do with me after I went off. You didn’t fight back like you cared, or come after me to try and make up. I figured that was the last straw and you were just over it. A hissy fit like that, you wouldn’t be the first,” Taako said.

Kravitz blinked and wheeled on Taako. "I'm—I'm not going to stop liking you because you were upset with me! And I'm not—Taako, I thought you _hated_ me. I was a right prick towards you. I had every impression that you would end things when you learned who it was you'd been talking to these past months. I don't think fighting you over that would have been the caring thing to do. If you wanted to be done with me, it would be well within your rights."

He stepped out of the center of the aisle and leaned against the side of an arcade machine. "I almost told you that first day," he said quietly, remembering the bar. The lightning bolt of revelation from seeing those overlarge sunglasses tucked into Taako's collar, waiting for him. "But you were... So unhappy to see me."

Taako couldn’t help it. He laughed.

“Sorry, just…” His laughter faded into giggles. He wiped tears from his eyes and tucked away loose strands of hair—his ‘do was falling apart from how much his ears were moving. “You’re really hard to stay mad at. I genuinely didn’t know you were you? And I thought that you were gonna see _you_ there chatting me up and assume the wrong thing, and that would drive you away, so to fix that I just drove you away. Like the same thing, but different—hey, wait a minute!” he burst out and straightened up, suddenly sober. “You texted me that soliloquy about it being fine for me to break things off if I wanted, but that you would never, _after_ you knew already!”

Kravitz nodded, clearly confused about where this was going. Taako pressed on. “You still wanted me? Even then. I was being awful, and there was no reason for you to just put up with it. I wouldn’t’ve blamed you for callin’ it quits.”

"I have never once thought about our time together as me 'putting up with you'," Kravitz said. He smiled, this time easily. "I enjoy your company, you know. I'm not lying when I compliment you. I really do think you're rather remarkable."

Taako could feel his ears going red. It should be impossible to tell under the flashing lights of the arcade, but he was about to have a minor crisis over blushing in front of the guy he liked. Kravitz was regarding him with soft, dark eyes, and _fuck,_ that was too much for eleven on a Saturday. Taako was gonna _melt_.

Just then Mookie bounced back over, arms full of brightly colored kid treasure. “I won! You gotta put yours on!” he demanded. He jumped up and down in place, trying to sling a neon pink feather boa around Taako’s neck and only succeeding at whacking him in the chest with it.

“Hold on, little guy, we’re talking, okay wait, stop, there we go.” Taako leaned down so Mookie could pull the boa around his neck, getting his ear cuffed for the privilege, ow. The boa had shed an approximate fuckton of feathers down his front and was somehow still going strong. He snatched the other boa from Mookie’s grasp before he could give it the same treatment, offering it to Kravitz. “Orange suits you, here.”

"Oh, dear. We lost track of him for a while, huh," Kravitz said. He wound the boa around his neck and looped the ends into a loose tie. Already little orange feathers were fluttering to the carpet.

Mookie dumped the rest of his prizes. He crouched over them on the ground and tore into the plastic wrapping. “Are those also for us?” Kravitz asked.

“No, these’re mine. I’m a skull wizard!” Mookie hollered, sporting the skeleton cowl and hat to prove it.

Kravitz rolled his eyes fondly. The hat was a deep blue, emblazoned with gold glitter stars, and it only just fit over the brow of the plastic skull mask. The cowl the mask was attached to swallowed Mookie’s shoulders, and the eye holes seemed to sit on his cheeks. “I don’t know why I thought otherwise. Well, thank you for the boa. I love it," Kravitz said.

"It's not a boa! It's a worm!" Mookie shouted. "I wanna do something else now."

Taako laughed and shook his boa. “Obey the skull wizard, my dude, I don’t know what he’s capable of!”

Kravitz grinned. "I see we've forgotten our desire to win a skateboard."

“Clearly,” Taako agreed. “What next, kid, what’re we doing?”

“I’m a skull wizard _pirate,_ I wanna play the pirate one!” Mookie exclaimed.

Taako turned to survey the machines. No telling which one was the pirate one. “Alright kiddo, you’re gonna have to show us what you mean.”

The arcade area was all neon-lit screens and red track lights. Looking out towards the bright sunlight streaming from the windows across the megaplex made Kravitz’s eyes hurt from the contrast. "Mookie, where's the pirate one?" he asked, stooping down to pick up the trash.

When he straightened up, Mookie had vanished. "Bollocks," Kravitz swore. It seemed unfair that he should be both the loudest kid imaginable and also able to disappear at the drop of a hat. "Wait, Taako, is that it?"

He pointed across the nearest row of arcade machines—shooters, racing games, a claw machine—to the plastic, grinning visage of a bearded man in a captain's hat, just visible above the cabinets.

“Gotta be, let’s go get him. Gods, he couldn’t be any more slippery if he bathed in oil,” Taako said, rolling his eyes.

Kravitz stuffed the crinkly plastic wrapping in his pocket and they headed down the row of games. There Mookie was, trying to spin the big wheel by wrenching at the bottom instead of pushing the big obvious button. “You’ve come to pillage me ship, have ya?” the machine asked.

“Yeah!” Mookie crowed. “Come on, gimme the red one!”

The wheel seemed to be split into a number of uneven, brightly-colored slices. A roulette game. Kravitz should not let himself get excited for this in front of a child he was babysitting.

Taako elbowed Kravitz. “Intro to gambling for babies. Should be harmless, right? I’ve seen how Merle raises his kids.” And there wasn’t really a lose condition on this one. At minimum the machine would spit out a handful of tickets. “Wait for us next time, okay pumpkin? Now go ‘head and get that red one.”

The ‘red one’ was a tiny sliver with barely enough room for all the 0’s in its thousand promised tickets. "Do you know how much credit you have left on your wristband, Mookie?" Kravitz asked.

“I dunno!” Mookie replied cheerfully.

Taako exchanged glances with Kravitz. “I haven’t kept track, but I’m pretty sure Merle loaded that thing up. I don’t think he wanted to be bothered before the race was over,” Taako chuckled.

Mookie finally found the button, and his first spin landed on a bright pink wedge marked 25. “Aw, rats!” he cried as the pirate laughed over the machine’s jaunty tune. Mookie resolutely punched the button again.

With Mookie occupied, what Kravitz had said finally came back to Taako. In a low voice, he asked, “You really mean that, about enjoying spending time together?”

Kravitz couldn't help but roll his eyes. "No, Taako, I spent hours every week chatting you up on Grindr because I disdain your company. _Of course_ I like spending time with you." He let it go unsaid how few other people in his life gave him any emotional fulfillment. Even just his renewed friendship with Johann put him leaps and bounds above where he'd been: haunting the shop in the morning, sitting by himself in the back through afternoon lecture, hiding away in a cell for evening practice, and then home alone in his crappy apartment for the night.

The arrow spun round the wheel and landed on a blue 30. Unfair odds. This didn't seem to be as high-paying as skeeball. Mookie stuck his tongue out, determined, and swiped his wristband again.

"I hope..." Kravitz took a deep breath and studiously watched the arrow spin. The pirate rattled off another _"Arrr!"_. "You know, I hope that my company wasn't too much of a burden, back when I was being... Less than gracious."

Taako smiled coyly. “It’s cool. Turns out I had someone to complain to, and he had some stuff to say about my difficult employee,” he teased, raising an eyebrow.

Kravitz buried his face in his hands. "It beggars the imagination, but I've been so anxious about everything else that I forgot about all that." He raised his head, a pathetic, woebegone expression on his face. "I might've had a flash of self-awareness and made the connection, but _you_ told me you were a _head chef._ The picture I had in my mind was of you captaining a full kitchen, in, most likely, a fancy restaurant! I briefly considered asking you to dinner there!"

“In my defense, I am the most senior chef we have.”

“You're the _only_ chef we have!”

Taako laughed. Kravitz’s indignant face, so often something that put him on edge, was now adorable. “But oh my gods, could you imagine? Hosting a fancy restaurant dinner, that’s kinda...not really in my future, who knows what excuse I’d’ve come up with.” Taako shook his head. “Anyway, now that I know? That’s funny as hell, like it happened _several_ times. You were in the next fuckin’ room!”

"Well, if you find it so endearing when I criticize myself, I suppose I should get into the habit,” Kravitz huffed. “Though—I fully believe you would do well, running a real kitchen. We had nothing when you came in. It was all just cold cuts and cheese wedges. Brad and I ruined _pasta salad._ Everything we've accomplished since then, in terms of prepared foods, has all been your effort."

Taako smiled. "It has been a lot, way more than I bargained for. I nudged Brad for full time during the interview 'cause I could tell he'd bite that it was good for business, but I never expected the whole catering thing. I'm still tryna figure out how you guys ruined pasta salad though, you just...you just make… We're gonna have to have a conversation, at some point, or you're gonna straight up die of hunger and that's unacceptable.”

"I'm perfectly capable of feeding myself," Kravitz said defensively. Then he remembered his recent commitment to honesty. "...Not that it's easy for me. I hate admitting this to a _head chef,_ but, not to scandalize you, my student apartment doesn't have an oven. Or a stove. I have minimal practice with real pasta; it was undercooked when we first strained it, so we put it back on the range and accidentally boiled it to mush."

“Mmm. Mm-mm, we’ll brainstorm, figure out how to make the best, there’s ways around not having a stove,” Taako replied thoughtfully. He was maybe making an assumption or two about this, maybe jumping straight in. They had some shit to work on vis-à-vis their relationship, for sure, but that would be easier on a full stomach.

“How’s piracy, little dude?” he asked Mookie, who was whacking that button like he was trying to hammer a nail.

“The red one’s hard to get!” Mookie exclaimed in frustration.

"I think the game is rigged," Kravitz mused, distracted by the image of Taako helping him cook in his awful kitchen. He'd like that. Or, even better, eating a meal at Taako's apartment. If it was anything like Magnus's place, it would be much nicer than what Kravitz was used to.

Mookie screwed up his face in frustration. Sensing an impending tantrum, Kravitz quickly said, "Maybe it's time for lunch. Would you like some pizza from the buffet? Mmmm, _pizza._" He mimed rubbing his tummy to really sell it.

"Fine," Mookie huffed. "I don't wanna play this dumb game anymore anyway." He crossed his arms and pulled the brim of his hat down over the skull’s eyeholes

It took a bit of cajoling to get him to take the cowl off so he could eat properly, but the diligent application of grease-drenched pizza brightened his mood. Kravitz nibbled his own slice and focused on enjoying the moment. For a chef, Taako seemed surprisingly content to eat garbage. And it was just so nice to spend time together without pretense.

This day was nothing like Kravitz had envisioned. They were sat at a plastic table, surrounded by families with children, and serenaded by Kidz Bop blaring from overhead speakers. Mookie kept kicking him under the table.

All of his efforts to engineer a perfect moment, a romantic occasion to sweep Taako off his feet, had been wasted energy. Things spiraled outside of his control—and worked out anyway. Taako didn't hate him. Taako wanted to be around him, to the degree that he would count joint babysitting as a date.

Hindsight was everything. If Kravitz had just been honest with Taako from the start and given him the choice of how to proceed, he would've saved them both a lot of heartache.

"Uncle T, why's he staring at you?" Mookie asked around a mouthful of pizza.

“Dunno, kiddo, sometimes he does that. Hey, Krav, you good over there?” Taako asked. Kravitz startled and stuck out his tongue, so Taako grinned back and took another bite. The pizza was trash, but the good kind of trash. Sometimes you just gotta eat trash pizza with your [status unclear, boyfriend ideally] and your friend’s loud child.

In fact, this looked... Like a thing. Like That Question was gonna come up in some of these folks’ minds, surely. It was hard to get a proper read on Mookie’s age relative to the two of them, just a few errors in opposite directions and they were ‘Two Dads and Their Hyperactive Child, Love Is Real’ in someone’s mind. Taako’s ears twitched like mad.

Godsdammit, he was gonna do Krav’s broody stare thing next, huh? He snapped out of it. “You guys wanna get down on some laser tag?”

“I’m game for anything you are,” Kravitz said, as Mookie hollered a wordless affirmative and sprayed pizza across the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe Merle's gambit is actually working. Except yes I can, because I've been on this exact date and it's _impossible_ to sulk or fight when you and your bae are responsible for keeping a small child happy.
> 
> Almost forgot! For Stealth's birthday, I did a quick piece on what Vibing!Lucretia's deal is, and her relationship with Lup. Read it [ here.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23676973)


	26. Don’t Look Away/can we work it out?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako and Kravitz versus babysitting: part 2. This is a version of bonding over a common enemy, really.

Mookie was the first to spot the sign for laser tag on the floor above the arcade, its angular letters appearing to shoot from the nose of a retrofuturistic blaster. He bolted up the stairs while Kravitz and Taako were still clearing away pizza trash.

When they caught up, they found him wheeling around the lobby, a space-themed alcove lit by neon green can lights in the ceiling and pink track lights along the floor. A teenaged attendant directed Mookie to the back of the line. They joined him and, without a word, mutually decided that stopping him from bouncing in place wasn’t worth the effort.

Kravitz was relieved to see that other parents—wait, what was _that_ thought?—were having similar trouble with their own charges. These kids were ready to go feral. Most of them looked to be a few years older than Mookie, but he and Taako weren't the oldest participants. All of the youngest children were accompanied by an adult.

As the line proceeded forward, it became clear that the attendant was alternately directing people to either the green or pink team. Kravitz stopped himself from nudging Taako—he hadn't dared initiate contact the entire day—and cleared his throat. "Which one of us is teaming up with Mookie?"

Taako considered this. Mookie was a livewire, wrangling him would be a lot, but siccing him on Kravitz with a laser gun would be satisfying after all the nonsense. It might even knock the guy out of his shell a little.

“I got him,” he said with an arch smile. He took Mookie’s hand. “You gonna help me blow this guy away, kid?”

“Yeah!” Mookie agreed. “You’re toast, Kravitz!”

“Toast, am I? We’ll see about that.” Kravitz grinned and headed off into his team's staging room. A gaggle of preteens were already donning their vests and toy lasers. The team leader, a teenager with a bored expression, had to help him find one sized for adults.

"Okay, your number's on your vest," the team leader announced, after the attendant ushered the last few participants into the room and shut the door. "That's how you'll track your score afterwards. There are no lives, but getting shot loses you fifty points, and shooting someone on the enemy team is worth a hundred points. The sensors for the lasers are on your back and chest." He hit a button on his remote and everyone's vests lit up in bright green. "Yes, multiple people can shoot you at the same time, but only the first hit will count for scoring.”

He waved his laser gun in the air. "If you get shot, your vest will buzz and your laser won't work for five seconds. Like this." He hit another button and the vests all buzzed like hornets. "Use that time to take cover in the ‘mystical space junkyard’ or the ‘derelict spaceship’. There are three staircases around the arena leading to the upper deck, but climbing the structures is absolutely prohibited. You also can't touch people on the other team for any reason. Breaking the rules _will_ get you kicked out. If you need to leave early or have any problems, you can find me at the door we're about to enter through. When the game is over a buzzer will sound, the overhead lights will come on, and everyone's vests will turn off. At that time, proceed through the door marked 'exit'. Any questions?"

He waited a brief moment before hitting a switch on the wall. The overhead fluorescent lights flickered off and the door behind him slid open, letting neon colors pour into the room. Kravitz let everyone rush out ahead of him and then skulked off into the darkness, hugging the wall. This tactic would probably be more effective if he wasn't lit up in neon green.

Meanwhile, Taako reminded Mookie of the rules, because hearing them a second time would hopefully make an impression on his child brain. “Did you catch that? No touching, no climbing, get the ones in green, ‘kay?”

“Let’s get Krav! I’ma shoot him!” Mookie whooped, bouncing down the short hall after the rest of their team. He pulled the skull mask back on over his head, followed by the wizard hat.

Hard to say how he could see through all that shit, but it made him real easy to keep track of, and that was a bonus in Taako’s book. “He’s around here wearing a green vest, let’s get him, my dude,” Taako agreed. He raised his laser and scanned the room.

The arena was densely crowded with plastic structures, glowing murals of alien planets and starships splashed across every surface. Shadow alternated with bright lights in primary colors. There were catwalks overhead spanning the ceiling and leading across a school bus sized, chrome spaceship protruding from one wall.

To Kravitz's left, plastic panels painted with asteroids were arranged in a sort of maze. To his right, a mirror reflected his glowing vest and the feather boa, lit neon orange under the blacklights. He twisted around and saw neon feathers shed down the back of his t-shirt.

Footsteps thundered across the catwalk overhead and his vest buzzed. He sighed and resolved to lurk quietly in the maze. Surely he would hear Mookie coming.

_“Oh, Kravitz,”_ Taako singsonged. He slunk along the wall on the open side of the arena, sticking close to a rad mural of a bright pink Jupiter for camouflage. “You see him, Mookie?”

“No, he’s bein’ sneaky!” Mookie answered.

“He must be hiding behind something, can’t hide forever, Krav!” Taako called, taking out a preteen.

Kravitz tried to pinpoint Taako’s voice above the throbbing techno music. The border of the maze was a mesh screen that he could easily shoot through. He racked up some points taking potshots at kids with his back pressed against a panel, like a cheater, and started tucking his boa into his vest so he'd be less visible. Feathers shed everywhere. Hopefully the attendants already had plans to vacuum today.

Taako slid towards a field of squat columns that could be used for cover, keeping a wary eye on the catwalks hanging above. Mookie bounced ahead of him. They got off a few shots at giggly glowing shapes darting past. None of them were Kravitz, disappointingly.

Just as Taako realized he’d lost track of Mookie, the kid came bouncing up behind him. “Look what I found!” Mookie held up a neon orange feather.

“Excellent. Good work there, kid.” Taako smirked. Time to catch himself a man. He spotted more feathers leading off to his left, just visible through the mesh around a maze of plastic panels. “Let’s go, he’s this way. _Kravitz! Come out and plaaaaayyy!”_

Kravitz hunkered down behind a plastic panel. He could hear Taako getting closer, but he still hadn't drawn a bead on him. And his feather boa had left a breadcrumb trail of feathers along the edge of the maze. Time to relocate.

He darted between two panels, heading for a dark shape that he hoped was a staircase to the catwalk. But they were blocked off by more mesh; he would have to travel through the maze to reach them, risking an encounter with Taako and Mookie at every turn. That bird wouldn’t fly. He needed some trick to give him an edge if he was to have any chance.

Someone shot him from above and his vest buzzed. He shot back—a miss—and ran for the nearest gap. Squeezing between panels, he made it out into a more open area around the base of the chrome spaceship. The only cover was from chunky pyramids rimmed in glowing neon that were scattered across the floor. They were just tall enough for him to duck behind. He peeked over the top and shot at a flash of pink visible inside the maze.

Taako’s vest buzzed. Oh, godsdammit, was that Kravitz or someone else? He wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but he was willing to bet.

“Haha, he got you!” Mookie crowed. He clambered on ahead.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get him back,” Taako vowed. Damn, there weren’t so many more feathers in here, the trail was going cold. “Sssshhhh, let’s sneak up and get the drop on him,” he hissed, gesturing for Mookie to come back. The boy ignored him.

Kravitz was starting to appreciate the advantage Mookie offered. He tried for a second hit, tracking Mookie's pink-limned silhouette between panels to figure out where Taako might be.

No luck. Taako was staying covered, and shooting Mookie made Kravitz feel guilty. Only one thing for it. He skulked his way to the pyramid closest to the maze, sticking to green-lit paths for camouflage, and took a very deep breath.

"Cor blimey, wouldya lookit this!"

Taako burst out laughing. _“Fucking excuse me?_ That’s the dorkiest shit!” He clapped a hand over his mouth. Oops, he didn’t want to return Mookie to Merle with a mouth like that. And he couldn’t go making that much noise when he was being stalked by the unseen ghost of terrible cockney.

Mookie had moved further along the maze without him. Taako was gonna have to move too. He darted along the pathway, checking behind panels for anyone hiding and trying to see which way Mookie had gone.

"Your problem is that I'd know your laugh anywhere," Kravitz called. "The accent's good, innit? It's a fun little way to trick my prey." He leveled several shots through the mesh at Taako.

Taako laughed again. He couldn’t help it! Would Kravitz really know his laugh anywhere? He was blushing, not that anyone could tell under the blacklights.

“‘M I your prey now? Whatcha gonna do if you catch me?” he taunted, just as his vest buzzed. Damn, Krav got him again.

"Top the leaderboards, ideally," Kravitz said, inching closer. He could see Taako's boa now, thrown over the slope of his shoulders. It suited him. Anything would look nice on him.

Kravitz read Taako as having a certain quality about his person, like he was perfectly at ease in his own skin. Being around Taako made him hope that confidence would rub off. "Other than that, I'll let you decide. Provided you make it good," Kravitz called, dropping the accent.

“Oho, ‘make it good?’ I have some ideas,” Taako replied. Kravitz was being playful, flirty even. Taako wished he’d seen this side of him right off, might’ve saved them both a lot of trouble.

He squinted, his darkvision fighting to adjust to all the neon, and fired at a hint of green in the most likely direction. Kravitz's vest buzzed and his laser blipped off. Damn, he couldn't tell if it was Taako who got him.

He wasn't going to get another good shot while Taako was hiding in the maze. He had to draw him out. Taking a deep breath, he tightened his gut and deployed one last trick.

Learning to throw his voice was the result of countless hours screwing around in the band hall. Until this moment, the skill had never once come in handy. "I can't wait to see what you come up with," he called.

The acoustics in the arena dampened the effect somewhat, but he had Taako fooled. No normal person expects their boyfriend to deploy a bevy of theater tricks. "Provided you can catch me!" Kravitz’s last words faded as though he was retreating.

Confident that Kravitz had run off, Taako grinned and hurried through the maze, stopping to hide behind panels and peek around them. Sometimes you got a second chance to act like a kid, and hell fucking yes he’d take it.

He emerged from the maze and scanned the arena, clutching his laser. He took a shot at a kid running past. Satisfying, but not as satisfying as getting Kravitz.

“Oh, I’m _gonna_ catch you,” he said with a determined smirk, then darted into what he was pretty sure the attendants’ spiel ambitiously called the ‘mystical space junkyard’.

Kravitz loved that his hiding place was close enough to let him glimpse the glee on Taako’s face. He wasn't very visible himself; the goth look was really working for him. In this environment, if not for the green lights on his vest, he'd blend with the shadows. Kravitz nailed Taako square in the back and stuffed a fist in his mouth to stifle his laughter.

Taako’s vest buzzed and he whirled. “What the f—“ oops, can’t say that in front of the child—

Hold on, _the child!_

“Fuck! Krav, wait, get out here, where’s Mookie?” The kid was right there ten seconds ago...or in the maze? Probably in the maze, right? Taako started looking around frantically, his ears flipping straight up.

Kravitz winced. This could be a ploy to get him to abandon the perfect hiding place, but it was a _really good one._ He popped his head over the pyramid and scanned the other structures. There were no flashes of pink in the maze that were close enough to the ground to be Mookie's silhouette, or signs of his glowing skull mask.

He pushed himself up from his crouch and approached Taako with his hands in the air, laser holstered. "I'm here. When did you last see him?"

“He was in the maze, like a _second_ ago, he was just a little bit ahead of me, _shit,”_ Taako answered. “Mookie, come on out!”

Gods, how could he be so stupid? He got so caught up— Merle probably had done this before, but that didn’t make it fine that he’d managed to lose a _wholeass person!_ Maybe these other children could be trusted to run around a laser tag arena unsupervised, but when it came to Mookie, Taako had heard _stories_. “Do you see him, did he come out of the maze at all?” he asked anxiously.

Kravitz wanted to place a comforting hand on Taako's shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Taako. We'll find him. This place is designed to be child-safe— Oh my lady."

He pointed. On top of the spaceship, a glowing, grinning skull face bobbed. The figure raised its arms. It latched onto the supports for the catwalk and lifted its feet.

“Oh, fuck, _Mookie!_ Get back down here!” Taako called. The kid was a solid twenty feet up, he was gonna fall and break his whole _everything,_ Taako could see it now.

Mookie just laughed and hooked his little knees around the struts. From their anchors in the wall above the spaceship, they slanted up and over the arena floor. His wizard hat fluttered down as he shimmied along.

Kravitz jogged towards him. Mookie continued on his merry way, pulling himself hand-over-hand. "That's NOT safe!" Kravitz shouted. "Mookie, stop!"

Mookie laughed and dropped his legs to dangle like he was on monkey bars. His laser gun swung from the cord connected to his vest. "Lookit me!" he called. "Hi Krav!"

The kids on the catwalk noticed him dangling. Mookie's vest buzzed and flashed—somebody shot him, gods, Kravitz couldn't believe people. He assessed the situation. If Mookie slid back down the strut, they could figure out how to get him down from there. "Mookie, I need you to climb back to the spaceship.”

"I dun’ wanna!" Mookie called. He screwed up his face and curled his legs. His sneakered feet scrabbled for purchase as he tried to get his knees over the strut. They slipped off, and he swung back with a huff. "Okay, fiiiiiine."

Neither Kravitz nor Taako had a chance to say anything more before he let go and dropped towards the arena floor.

The last thin thread holding Taako back from full-on panic gave way. “Mookie, _no!”_ he shouted, and did the only thing he could think to do, breaking a rule he’d kept for months outside of the safety of his apartment.

He cast Feather Fall.

Fuck it, what else was he gonna do?

Mookie’s descent slowed and he floated harmlessly to the ground, landing only a couple feet away from Kravitz. Before Taako could run over, he was already tearing a wide circle around the arena, obviously unharmed and no wiser from his experience.

“Oh, thank fuck,” Taako muttered, grabbing Kravitz in a tight hug of relief.

Kravitz wheezed and clung back. "I forgot you were magic again, I thought he was going to— _Fuck._ Excuse me, I think I'm having a panic attack. My apologies."

"That was great!" Mookie shouted. He bounced between the pyramids, whooping. “I wanna go again!”

“Hell no! That was not _great!_ I’m telling your dad!” Taako snapped, craning his neck to watch the little monster parade.

Kravitz patted his back comfortingly and he buried his face in Kravitz’s shoulder. “It’s fine, it’s fine, he didn’t—_splat,_ or anything, phew,” he gasped, his words threaded through with shaky little chuckles.

Kravitz’s face was so close. His heart was thundering against Taako’s chest, but his hands were firm and steady. "Taako, that was _amazing,"_ Kravitz said. “You really saved the day there.”

Taako looked up. Their eyes connected: Kravitz’s blown dark and wide, Taako’s bright and wavering.

Taako blushed. Kravitz inched closer. If they could just meet halfway... “Yeah, well...couldn’t just—“

He felt a firm tap on his shoulder. “‘Scuse me,” came a voice trying to be authoritative, but pretty resoundingly undercut by the nervous crack into a higher register. “I’m gonna to have to ask you all to leave. You um, broke a couple of rules. No climbing, no touching,” the teen attendant said.

They broke their hug and sheepishly turned to face this poor kid, who was probably having the most exciting shift of his career and looked about ready to keel over. Kravitz burst out laughing and folded, clutching Taako’s arm. "Sorry, I'm sorry. Nerves," he cackled, pressing his face into Taako's shoulder unselfconsciously. 

The kid drew himself up and insisted, "I'm sorry I have to ask you to leave now, but _please_ collect your son.”

"Yes, that's quite alright," Kravitz replied, still chuckling as he released Taako, who stepped away reluctantly. They could let that misapprehension slide, since Mookie was their fault, if not their son. "Mookie, we've got to go!"

Mookie launched himself from the top of a pyramid and came scampering over, his laser dragging on the floor behind him. "Awww, is the game over? Who won?"

“Historians are divided on who won, bubbeleh. Let’s amscray,” Taako said with a laugh. He never wanted to revisit anything that happened here...except that last part.

He’d nearly kissed Kravitz. He’d been almost completely sure Kravitz wanted to kiss him, too.

Maybe they could get back to that once the harbinger of mayhem here was no longer their responsibility. Taako grabbed Mookie’s hand firmly as they headed out of the arena. “What part of ‘no climbing’ was such a mystery, huh? Can’t believe you did that, you almost got wrecked,” he scolded.

Mookie pouted. He kicked at the floor and dragged his feet, so Kravitz grabbed his other hand for insurance. Though he wouldn't put it past Mookie to give them the slip even so. The kid may be immature for his age, but he was definitely an escape artist in the making. "I was fine! It wasn't that high!" Mookie whined.

Kravitz sighed. "Mookie, it rather was. You could've been seriously hurt. We'll have to tell your dad about this."

They helped Mookie unbuckle his vest and turned in all their gear. Just as they remembered he lost the wizard hat, Mookie pulled a crumpled ball of cheap fabric out of his pocket and unfolded it over his head. The wires were bent all out of shape; he looked ridiculous.

Kravitz shot Taako a wry look. "Is it feasible to go find Merle now? I feel like we've done our due diligence as babysitters."

Mookie growled, his fierce little face completely occluded by accessories. "'M not a baby!"

“Word of advice? Embrace it, being a baby’s easy mode as far as life goes,” Taako said. He turned to Kravitz. “I think the race has gotta be done, right? The point is for it to be fast, like come _on.”_

"Alright, let's hand him off quickly. Before anything else can happen." Kravitz smiled at Taako. A child almost just _died_ in front of them and this was still the best day he'd had in weeks, because Taako was here. And Taako was, by all evidence, a miracle worker.

“Yeah, let’s get Merle’s spawn back to him in one piece,” Taako agreed. And then maybe they could figure out what to do from there. Hopefully something fun?

Kravitz returned the sentiment. It was phenomenally special that their desire for each other’s company was mutual.

This was not the kind of date that either of them envisioned. They’d spent so many of the hours leading up to this day totally despondent, and they could happily go the rest of their lives without assuming responsibility for Mookie again. But it was impossible to mourn what could have been when the here and now was a moment of shared humor and relief.

"It seems rather like Merle to have not given you a time for the race's end," Kravitz said as they returned to the main floor. The huge paneled windows across from the arcade overlooked the go kart track, which was bustling with post-race activity. 

“Yeah, that’s him all over. Classic Merle,” Taako agreed. 

The go karts sat on the far side of the finish line. As they pushed outside, they spotted a crowd of figures gathered around a kart that seemed to have collided with the stacks of painted tires bordering the track.

It took a few minutes to locate Merle in the hubbub. He and Davenport were sat out of the way, sharing a Gatorade on the first tier of the stands. Dav’s kart, a sleek bright red thing with silver and orange stars along the sides and across the spoiler, was parked on the grass nearby.

Taako waved to get their attention and led Mookie and Kravitz over. “How’d the race go? Didja win?”

“Almost had it!” Davenport replied with a snap of his fingers. “Sloane beat me by a hair--but she had to hit the wall to do it! My baby doesn’t have a scratch on her, so I feel like the real winner here.”

Taako bobbed his head. “Good stuff, good stuff, well, we brought your boy back, Merle.” He and Kravitz released the kid’s hands, and Kravitz gave him a gentle shove forward for good measure. “In one piece, no thanks to him. Wanna tell your dad what all went on, Mookie, or are Krav ‘n me gonna have to fill him in?”

"I won this mask an' a hat!" Mookie crowed. Kravitz tossed his head back with a roll of his eyes: what a shameless evasion! Mookie waved said hat in the air, grinning broadly. "S'not as cool as your motorcycle helmet though, Uncle Dav."

Davenport gave him an amused smile. "Go-kart helmet, Mookie. Would you like to—"

"Can I wear your helmet?"

"What do we say?"

Mookie lifted his mask and peeked at Davenport, thinking. "Can I wear your helmet _please?"_

"That's better." Davenport passed him the helmet and chuckled when he crammed it on over his mask and the bedraggled wizard hat. "Alright, he's very obviously deflecting. Boys, what did he get up to?"

"Hey, if it's bad, lemee sit down first," Merle joked.

"Well, it would have been bad, if not for Taako," Kravitz said. "Do you want to tell them...?"

“He only nearly died!” Taako burst out, completely exasperated. “He climbed the dingdong spaceship at laser tag and swung off the catwalk, like, is this a kid or a monkey?! And then he decided to get down via _gravity._ I thought I was gonna have to bring him back as _paste_ in a _bucket.”_

“But you saved him!” Kravitz quickly insisted. “It was spectacular, I’ve never seen such quick thinking.”

“Yeah, I just sort of,” Taako wiggled his fingers, “brought him down slow. No big deal.” He calmed down. The vote of confidence was as comforting as Kravitz had intended.

Merle nodded. “Yeah, alright,” he said, as though ‘brought him down slow’ made perfect sense. “We’ll have another talk about climbing things. All good otherwise? Was he polite?”

"I had the _best day,"_ Mookie said. "Can we come back tomorrow?"

"Maybe if you can convince Mavey to take you. Kravitz 'n Taako have lives to get back to, isn't that right?" Kravitz and Taako shuddered internally at the thought of the mayhem Mookie could wreak with only poor Mavis to restrain him.

"Mind taking them all home, Merle?" Davenport asked. "I've gotta load my kart up, and I'd like to check on Sloane. She’ll need to do a _lot_ of repairs after that boneheaded stunt."

Merle waved a hand dismissively. "Hey, you win some, you lose a few tires. Ready to saddle up for that drive back, boys?"

"Sure, that works for me," Kravitz said. He cast a glance towards Taako, fingers itching with the desire to take his hand. But he held himself back. Without the haze of adrenaline demolishing his inhibitions, he was mindful that they hadn’t established where boundaries lie. Anything worth doing right was worth doing carefully; he’d take things as slow as Taako wanted.

"Yup, I'm ready," Taako confirmed. Running ragged after Mookie and having what was very nearly his first kiss with Kravitz derailed sucked, but, as Taako reminded himself, it was probably for the best.

One date wasn’t enough to get them back on track, no matter how much the chemistry sizzled. Magic could stop Mookie from hitting the ground, but Taako didn’t know a spell for repairing damaged trust.

Merle and Magnus were right. He and Kravitz needed to talk, ideally in more depth than they could with a borrowed kid underfoot. Taako needed more assurance that Kravitz wouldn't keep things from him, and he still felt bad about being such a dick for the past couple of weeks.

As they followed after Mookie and Merle, Taako caught Kravitz watching him. He did the mature thing and stuck out his tongue.

Startled, Kravitz laughed. “Are you feeling alright?”

Taako blinked. “Yeah, my man. I’m just thinking some thoughts. Do I need to lay out why a day like this was kind of overwhelming?”

Boldly, Kravitz bumped their shoulders together. “I’m frankly confused by what could be the matter. Large entertainment complexes with children jumping from the rafters are the most soothing sort of venue I can think of.”

“Oh yeah, hard agree.” Taako smiled wickedly. “In fact, how about we rehash this for our second date?”

Kravitz held up his hands. “Consider my bluff called! I would rather do literally anything else you want. _Anything_ else.”

“'Anything?'” Taako echoed, quirking an eyebrow. “Careful what you promise, kemosabe. You should be scared of what I might come up with.”

“I’ve resolved to be less of a coward when it comes to you.” Kravitz winked. “I have that second date in hand, there’s nothing left for me to worry about.”

“Sap,” Taako teased.

“You know it,” Kravitz shot back. He reached out. Taako took the offered hand and laced their fingers together, joy blooming from the touch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what if we KISSED (Flushed Face )(Smiling Face With Heart-Shaped Eyes ) in the LASER TAG ARENA (Smirking Face ) (Face With Stuck-Out Tongue And Winking Eye ) and got THROWN OUT (Face With Look Of Triumph ) (Disappointed But Relieved Face )
> 
> *
> 
> Well, if babysitting on a first date wasn't enough, losing track of the child and narrowly avoiding tragedy oughta be. You know, most folks just get dinner. Fortunately for us, these dumbasses are far more entertaining than an awkward conversation over a pile of breadsticks.


	27. Promise me a place/heart to heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako and Kravitz finally made it to date number two: a double date with everyone's favorite Blups!

"I'm actually quite well," Kravitz said to Angus. "I thought being in your car—every offense to this vehicle meant—would be a more harrowing experience. But this is fine."

Angus rolled his eyes. The Gremlin continued its trundle along the crowded street, staying respectfully in line with the other traffic as they headed up into the suburbs. Squashed little bungalow houses with tiny, scrubby yards crawled past them. "Sir, when I asked how you were feeling, I meant about _Taako._ Obviously. I remember how upset you were on Friday."

Kravitz smiled to himself. The luxury of popping in on Taako in his kitchen and being met with affection would never get old. Arriving at the shop on Monday had been an exciting prospect. Work was a delight when it was full of stolen moments to joke with Taako and make him laugh.

Two days in and he was more productive than ever, cheerfully and efficiently dispensing with customers so he could take on tasks that sent him into Taako's radius. When he got to campus, he channeled his emotion into music with little effort, and felt unmitigated pride at his accomplishments. Even his advisor noticed his improved mood.

Still, he and Taako hadn't talked on Grindr again. The thought of doing so was...uncomfortable. The people they'd been pretending to be felt like another life. Kravitz was tempted to scroll up and reread some of their _exchanges,_ especially when in bed alone at night. But he hadn’t yet. Maybe later.

The problem was that there were so many intimate details, formerly glossed over by his imagination, that were now rendered technicolor by his familiarity with the grip of Taako’s hand and the bow of his lips. Knitting those details into fantasy quickly overwhelmed him. He was left pulling his pants back up, distracted and shamed, without having enjoyed himself at all.

Exploring those feelings was something he needed to do with Taako, at whatever pace was comfortable. Besides, even if he and Taako weren’t quite where they’d been with intimacy, he was so, so happy to have what they did. Asking for more would be greedy.

Incredibly, Taako proposed a date for Tuesday. In Kravitz’s wildest dreams—well, in his _wildest_ dreams, they would share an apartment with a grand piano that overlooked a park—he would happily embrace two dates in four days. By that metric, they were moving very fast. Even if this second date was also...odd.

"I think we're learning how to talk to each other productively, instead of repeating the cockamamie nonsense I inadvertently put us through," Kravitz said. "He's—he's not disappointed by me. He seems to genuinely enjoy my company, maybe as much as I enjoy his."

Angus nodded. "I'm glad to hear it, sir. I hope tonight goes well too."

"Yes, I'm sorry to impose," Kravitz said. "If this is an inconvenience—"

"It's nice to have friends over!" Angus broke in, allowing no argument. He smoothly turned onto a side road. Honestly, it was a miracle that the Gremlin handled so well, with all the rattling and suspicious noises it constantly emanated. "Besides, I love eating Taako's cooking. And Barry's going to help me with my homework!"

"I'm glad. And thank you again for the ride. You're a very good driver, Angus."

Angus grinned at him. "Magnus taught me. He has vehicle proficiency."

Kravitz raised his eyebrows. _"Magnus_ taught you? We're talking about Magnus Burnsides? I've heard Taako's stories, so now I'm surprised we're observing the speed limit."

"Well," Angus said, smirking. "I learn best by observation. Watching Magnus gave me a good idea of what _not_ to do. We’ll be there in five minutes, so can you send Taako a quick text as a heads-up?”

“Absolutely,” Kravitz said, pulling out his phone.

Taako ignored the buzz announcing Kravitz’s message. He and Lup were busy bustling around the kitchen of the McDonalds’ home, putting the finishing touches on dinner. Taako slid a baking dish full of tender chicken breasts out of the oven, setting it on top of the stove.

“Okay, we got chicken, the glaze is ready. Rice, green beans?” he asked Lup.

“Done and done,” she confirmed. “Smells amazing, if I do say so myself. The boys’ll love it.”

Taako snorted. “They’d better. If Kravitz turns out to hate good food I’m gonna have to dump him or educate him, and I haven’t picked which.”

Lup laughed. “And if Mr. Barry ‘Lactose Intolerant’ Bluejeans begs me to kill it with cheese one more time—”

The doorbell chimed and the front door creaked open. “Hello, everyone,” Angus called.

Taako bit his lip. Gods, it was gonna be fine, there was no need to be nervous. “It’s your own house, little man, you don’t have to ring the doorbell! You got Krav there with you? C’mon in! But leave your shoes at the door, we’re gonna be civilized.”

“You okay, bro-bro?” Lup leaned in and whispered. “Maybe take a breath, kinda got emotional whiplash here. You two are taking it slow and dealing with your shit, right? Talking a lot?”

Taako mirrored her and leaned in, exhaling slowly. He could hear Angus and Kravitz pulling their shoes off in the entryway. “Yeah. Well, some. We talked some? Work is going fine, we’re both professionals. He still seems to like me, I’m dealing with the whole secrets thing, and I think it’ll be okay,” he said, trying to convince himself.

Lup gave him a shrewd look. “Okay,” she said dubiously. “If you say so. You know if it doesn’t feel good, then we do whatever it takes until it does, right? That goes for me and Barry too. We’ll talk it through or run this boy out of the state if you need it.”

Taako chuckled. “Damn straight we will. What’s a little felony between family?”

Angus padded into the kitchen a moment later, with Kravitz shuffling awkwardly in behind him. The McDonalds’s was much what he'd expected while travelling through the neighborhood; an older Victorian style house set close to its neighbors on either side, backed up against the forest at the base of a mountain.

Once, it must have been imposing. Now the yard was visibly overgrown and ill-tended, and there were patches of peeling paint along the trim. Taking care of a home like this was a large task for a young man and his ailing grandfather.

The foyer was practically a museum piece, featuring a dark wooden hall stand embellished with scrollwork and decorated with dusty silk flowers. His and Angus’s shoes had gone into a plastic bin that felt very out of place. Equally out of place were the medicine bottles piled under the silk flowers. Determined to not pry, Kravitz turned away without reading any of the labels.

Angus strode over to the stove. "That smells amazing!" he said, dipping a finger in the saucepan of glaze before Lup could swat him.

Kravitz stayed by the entrance to watch Taako. The kitchen was clearly the heart of this home, a well-loved and kempt space, and Taako looked perfectly comfortable. There was not a speck of dust to be seen. Most of the appliances were old, but the food processor and several of the tools on the counter looked relatively new, and were familiar to him as the same kinds Taako made Brad purchase for the shop.

Taako looked up and met his gaze, expression deliberately neutral. "Hello," Kravitz said warmly. "It's so good to see you both. Thank you for inviting me. Is there anything I can help out with? Should I greet Ronald?"

Not completely neutral, Kravitz realized, as Taako’s ears relaxed minutely. “Ronald’s chilling in the den right through that door. Glad you made it,” Taako replied. Fuck everything, his face was going warm. It was Kravitz’s fault for being so friendly and sweet.

“Barry’s in there too. Dinner’s just about ready, can you tell him?” Lup asked. She cut a look over to Taako. He knew she knew he had it bad, all blushing in the kitchen over a man. Just had to make sure that man was _decent._

Taako turned to Angus. “Get washed up, alright?” he said. Old habits die hard, after all; he tried to view Angus as the near-adult he was, but still slipped into that old babysitting role like a glove.

"Yes sir," Angus said cheerfully. "And if my grandpa's not sleeping, he'd love to meet you, Kravitz. He just gets a little confused sometimes, so please be patient."

"Of course." Kravitz nodded to them and crossed the kitchen. He softly opened the door to the den and slipped in.

Against the far wall, a TV played some old sitcom at a low volume. The den was musty in a way that was so familiar it hit Kravitz right between the eyes. It smelled like aging, like thin, papery skin and stale sweat. Barry was sitting on a warm brown couch with a textbook in his lap and papers spread across the coffee table in front of him. The windows at his back were shuttered; the room could use some fresh air, but it was just too hot out. 

Angus's grandfather lay in a reclining chair under thick blankets. A rotating fan played across his face, mussing tufts of his brittle, white hair. "Hello, Mr. McDonald?" Kravitz said gently.

"Ah, hello," he grunted. "You must be one of Angus's friends."

"That's right. My name is Kravitz. Thank you for having me here for dinner."

"Ah, Kravitz." Ronald chuckled. "Like the singer, isn't that right?"

Kravitz huffed and forced a gentle smile. He’d heard that one before. "Yes, exactly like the singer.”

The door opened again as Angus came in with two plates. "I've got your dinner, grandpa. Taako and Lup made pomegranate chicken, it's really good. Are you hungry?"

Ronald sucked on his lips and didn't say anything. His eyes went cloudy. Angus’s shoulders sunk. He quietly put the plates down on the coffee table.

"Hey, Ango, I finished looking over your essay. It's pretty solid as-is," Barry said, gesturing to the papers. "I made a few notes on stuff that could use elaboration. You really oughta either follow up with a couple details after you mention that piperonyl butoxide was found to affect the biotransformation of pyrene in annelids, or cut it out completely, because you didn’t finish your thought there. I snagged a couple of papers you could reference. You want me to send you the PDFs?”

"Thank you, sir!" Angus said. He took his essay and flipped through excitedly, skimming Barry's notes in the margins. "I'm very grateful you had the time to help me."

"It's no problem," Barry replied genially. "Are you and Ron gonna be okay in here for dinner?"

"We sure are! Do you want me to read you some of my essay, grandpa?"

Ronald looked puzzled. "What're you doing essays for? Aren’t you done with school?"

If Kravitz recalled correctly, Angus had another year left. He would still graduate early, but his school insisted that he took some time to spend with his peers instead of racing off to higher education. Angus shook his head. "This is for my college class this summer. Toxicology, remember?"

"Ah, sure... I hope dinner's not poisoned!" Ronald quipped.

"No, sir," Angus said. "You guys go on ahead. We'll be okay in here. Have fun on your double date, and tell Taako and Lup I said thanks again for cooking."

"If you're sure," Kravitz said. "Call for us if you need anything."

"I will!" Angus beamed. Ronald grunted something unintelligible.

Ronald reminded Kravitz of too many of his guardians. When he was younger, he'd be removed to a new home when they could no longer care for him. But he gradually took on more responsibilities, and by the time he was Angus’s age, he was practically running the household for his last set of foster parents.

It came to feel like he was their warden and they were his charges; that it was his job to ease their passing, to comfort them in the face of death, and be graciously supportive to their surviving family afterwards. He had been...exhausted.

He could remember many evenings exactly like this one would be for Angus. Helping his guardian eat. Reminding them of their meds. Putting them to bed. How had he never visited to help out before?

When he and Barry left the den, he was more glad than ever to see Taako and Lup in the kitchen. Angus would be eating a home-cooked meal instead of the takeout that Kravitz grew accustomed to. They would be a shout away if Ronald had any problems. "How often do you come over here to help Angus, Taako?" Kravitz asked.

“A couple times a week, I guess. Wednesdays and sometime over the weekend. We try to do stuff that’ll keep, so the kid can eat leftovers,” Taako answered. “If we plan it out it’s pretty easy, and then he has company, too.”

Lup laid places at the table. “It’s easier to cook for four instead of two,” she added. “Lots of recipes are scaled for family.”

“Yeah, and Ronald doesn’t walk so good anymore. Moving his brittle bones in and out of the car is a lot to handle. Does cha’boy want to figure out what kind of insurance covers old people falls? Absolutely fucking not.”

“It would be his health insurance. Slip and fall claims against homeowners’ insurance are for accidents at other people’s houses,” Barry explained.

“I said I didn’t wanna figure it out! Anyway, I try to be over here on Shabbat, if nobody else can pick him up for temple. Or if he needs a ride to Tuesday canasta or the doctor or whatever,” Taako finished flippantly.

“That sounds like a lot, buddy,” Barry said. “What about the rest of the gang? You said they tagged along sometimes, for whatever good that does.”

“I swear to the gods, babe, Merle’s actually helpful. Sometimes. I _promise_ he has redeeming qualities,” Lup said with a snort. “For one, Ronald actually likes him, unlike Magnus. Who, by the way, _can_ lift Ron in a pinch, which he _really hates_. So we don’t do that anymore.”

“Geez, that’s a shame,” Barry teased. “It sure sounds like the best way to get around to me—wrapped in Mags’s big arms and borne on that fluffy cloud of chest hair.”

Lup pulled a face. “Ew, but the _man sweat._ Anyway, personally, I’m an advocate for levitation. Ango can cast that, but you need someone spotting and steering. Safety reasons, y’know.”

Taako shrugged one shoulder and scooped chicken onto a plate. “‘S’better to make him practice walking though. Do _you_ wanna disappoint his physical therapist, Lulu? Do you?”

Kravitz didn't know how to articulate what he was feeling. How do you thank someone for making a huge difference in someone else's life? How could he explain why he felt gratitude towards the twins for offering Angus and Ronald the support that he never got? It was easy for him to imagine how much more difficult Angus’s life would be otherwise: finishing up high school, caring for his grandfather and their home, taking college classes, and working at least two part time jobs.

"I'd like to contribute, if I can. What you two are doing here is—very good," Kravitz said. "Angus has never asked me, but I feel like I should be doing more. Not that I don't respect his independence."

“Well, how about for tonight you can help with dessert and cleanup, and we’ll figure out what else needs doing later. I’m sure as hell not gonna say no to another pair of hands. I’m not built for hard labor!” Taako gave him a sly smile. It was really sweet that Kravitz wanted to be helpful, and he was gonna take full advantage.

What a reversal from all the sniping in the store, back when he was supposed to be training Taako. Angus would definitely appreciate the hand too; the kid seemed to really like Krav, enough to be co-conspirators on the whole telling-Taako-who-his-boyfriend-was deal.

There were plenty of big chores at the McDonald house that kept getting pushed back; cleaning the gutters, for one, and Taako had been dreading that. Besides Lup, Magnus was the only one both tall enough to comfortably reach the roof and willing to touch muck. Unfortunately, combining him with ladders was risky business. If they roped Krav (and maybe also Barry) in, Taako might survive that day without getting rotting leaves under his fingernails.

“Just so you know what you’re getting into, Krav, Taako’s a baby about anything that requires heavy lifting,” Lup said. Taako stuck his tongue out at her, and the moment he stopped looking, she shot Kravitz a withering glare. “If you’re signing up for this, you can start by helping me carry dishes to the table.”

Kravitz followed her directions to lay trivet mats across the table runner for the dishes. Lup had already arranged place settings with real silverware, and the result was beautiful in an old-fashioned way—so, exactly his aesthetic. Not counting potlucks with the Raven Queen’s flock, he hadn’t had a meal like this in years. How he _loathed_ microwave dinners in his pitiful kitchen.

As excited as he was for dinner, it was becoming clear that having Lup around made it hard for him and Taako to slip into flirtation. There was something off about her demeanor. Bristly. It brought to mind that the last time he'd seen her was Thursday, when Taako had publicly eviscerated him for skipping out on an hour of work.

Barry seemed nonchalant about the whole ordeal. He poured everyone drinks and sat down comfortably. Kravitz found himself wondering what Taako had said to them about him. This felt less and less like a date and more like he was being judged. Should he be affectionate with Taako, or would Lup interpret that as him taking liberties? He started sweating.

Taako openly watched Kravitz, ears tilting upwards in amusement. Awww, he looked nervous. It was okay, though, everyone was gonna behave themselves, it would just be a nice dinner.

Why _was_ Kravitz so nervous?

Hey, wait, why was Taako so nervous?

It was just a family dinner, no big deal, right? Barry was kinda family, it was just him and Kravitz and Lup and Barry eating dinner. Taako’s thoughts were swirling but never quite reaching a conclusion.

His feelings were a muddle. The only thing he knew for sure was that he really wanted this to go well. “Alright, everyone, dig in,” Taako encouraged.

Lup smiled and picked up her fork. “Secret ingredient’s love, just to get that out of the way," she joked.

“Way to go, Lulu, how could you blow our big secret like that?” Taako gasped.

"Love, huh? Well, I guess that's why my cooking never turned out right before Lup," Barry said. "It's because she's the only thing uh, keeping my heart from being a shriveled pit."

"Aw babe," Lup crooned. "I'll get your blood pumping wet and warm." She fluttered her eyelashes.

Kravitz snorted. "Is that...flirting? Is that what's going on here?" That was a lot of gross imagery for a dinner table. He reassessed the chicken.

“I told you they were _groooooss,”_ Taako teased. “You see what I gotta live with? All day, every day?”

“Someday you’ll understand, when you’re my age, bro-bro—“ Lup began.

“‘Scuse you, I _am_ your age! I’m older—“

“Well then, brace yourself, it’s just sappy flirting, all the way down, can’t stop, won’t stop—“

“Oh my gods, _please_ stop—“ Taako said as they both dissolved into laughter.

Kravitz was still laughing along when Lup turned a wolfish grin on him. "Soooooo," she asked. "How's the food?"

"It's really good," he said immediately.

She raised an eyebrow. Barry snorted. "Buddy, you haven't taken a bite yet."

Hurriedly, Kravitz cut off a bite to shove into his mouth. It _was_ very good. The chicken was moist with a crisp skin and garnished with bright, citrusy pomegranate seeds. Savory flavor accented perfectly by acidity. The green beans were firm and juicy, and the glaze was a perfectly sweet compliment to the fluffy rice

"Now that I've had some, I'll amend my previous statement. The food is utterly fantastic,” Kravitz said.

Taako laughed. “There you go, it tastes better if you eat it,” he teased.

Barry snorted. “That’s how I do it, yup,” he joked. “Just, you know, straight into the mouth, with the chewing and all.” He took a bite, chewed, and swallowed. “It is really good, babe.”

"Hell yeah it is," Lup said, all bright confidence. She returned his soft smile. "This is how we _do._ Taako may be profesh, but I'm no slouch."

Barry tapped his chin. "Funny, because for a household with two cooks, I've seen a lot of takeout in your fridge."

"Well, it must be tiring, coming home after a long day only to face the expectation of having to cook?" Kravitz offered.

"Thank you!" Lup said. "This man gets it. Also, Ango's kitchen is like, way nicer. Weird venue weird vibe and all, but I don't know anyone else with a house, and this kitchen? Rules. It's got countertops for _days."_

Barry blinked. "Um, I have a house. The uh, the kitchen's not this nice, though."

“Yeah, Krav’s right, that’s a lot of cooking. I mean I love it, but whew,” Taako cut in, trying not to panic.

What did that mean, Barry had a _house?_ What was he gonna do with a _house,_ fucking _live in it?_ With Lup? Fucking _steal_ Lup to live in it? And leave Taako alone? When was that gonna happen, was there a countdown, he wasn’t ready, oh gods, she’d tell him, right?

They’d been together like three weeks. It was fine, surely. And this was good for Lup.

He pulled himself together to execute his most important duty: teasing his sister. “Oooooh, Lulu, you didn’t tell me your boy had a _house!_”

Lup’s face was a picture of pleasant shock and eagerness. “Well, let me find these things out first and I’ll tell you!” she answered with a laugh. “New relationships, huh? I remember we were gonna go to your place that one night and ended up just...well, _yeahhhhhh._ Wink.”

Barry blushed bright red. "So," Kravitz interrupted, before he could learn anything about their sexual exploits. Taako seemed outright panicked; a topic change was in order. "How's school, Lup?"

"Oh, school's great," she said breezily. "I'm having fun getting to do pretty much the inverse of what my man does. He wants those bodies to get all goopy for his sciencing, while I'm over here keeping them fresh for funerals. Can't traumatize the fam with putrefaction. That smell does _not_ come out of anything."

"You're telling me," Barry chuckled. "The worst is when they spring a leak. Just, _pfwoosh!"_

Kravitz halted cutting another bite off his chicken and shot Taako a beseeching look. A topic change was in order. _Please._

“How’s your school going, Krav?” Taako fumbled. What was with all these weirdos and their weird obsession with death? He was surrounded by them, thank the gods Kravitz was a _normal_ boy, no connection with death there. “Did your test go good?”

“Oh hey, that’s right— You said you’re in school too, for what was it again?” Lup asked.

Barry cut a very deliberate slice of chicken. "Mmm, Taako said music, but Kravitz told me 'Religious Arts'. Which is it? Or are you a double major or something?"

Ah. This was the problem with lying: the impossibility of keeping a story consistent. Good thing Kravitz had given up the ruse sooner rather than later. "I, er... It's just music. Composition, specifically. My program is religiously affiliated, so a lot of my studies are in that vein, but... Well, I hadn't figured out what to, um, say to Taako..."

Barry laughed. "You thought he'd figure you out if he overheard you saying your major was music?"

Kravitz winced and nodded. "Yes. I assumed he'd think it too much of a coincidence to have two musicians in his life, so I was trying to be...vague. I'm sorry." Kravitz directed the last words at Taako, remorse etched into his face.

Lup looked shocked. “Oh my gods, how many times— Holy shit.”

Taako snickered, then burst out laughing. “Okay, but can I tell you? In the car on the way back from Crystal’s you said you were a music major and I thought—_fuck_,” he snorted. “I wondered whether you were your own classmate!” He laughed even harder.

"You— Really?" Kravitz burst out laughing too. "I think I had heart palpitations over that slip-up. I was so sure you'd figure me out."

Lup narrowed her eyes. "I don't think it's that funny."

“It just genuinely didn’t occur to me that you were the same person, which probably? That’s on me,” Taako said, recovering a little.

“Getting lied to isn’t _on you,_ are you hearing yourself? That’s not your fault,” Lup objected.

"It really isn't," Kravitz said, sobering up. "As I said, I'm sorry. I was...far too anxious to come forward when I should have."

“Yeah, you were. And I hope you two are working it out, ‘cause you?” Lup said, turning to Taako, “don’t deserve that shit, and you?” she continued, turning to Kravitz, “had sure as hell better not pull that shit again.”

“It’s okay now, it’s better,” Taako assured her.

“Well, that’s what we’re here to find out, isn’t it?” Lup shot back. “We’re here to find out whether this mysterious music man is gonna straighten up and fly right or whether he’s gonna fuck you over and leave me to pick up the pieces like Thursday.”

Kravitz blanched and bit back a sneer. He was _not_ going to pick a fight with Taako's sister over dinner. There was no doubt left in his mind that she was the architect of this strange double-date. He knew little about sibling relationships, but he was confident that Lup was overstepping so many boundaries. Taako was an adult! He could make his own decisions, and who was Lup to judge?

At the same time— Kravitz had spent all of Thursday evening, and a significant portion of Friday, on a crying jag. If Lup saw Taako in similarly dire straits, then he could sympathize with her desire to intervene. Just the idea of Taako crying because of him made Kravitz's blood curdle.

"I care for Taako very much," Kravitz said, surprised by the emotion in his voice. "I would never want to hurt him." Hurt him again, that is. "I promise that I'm doing my utmost to act in good faith."

Lup reclined in her chair. Her ears, formerly pinned back against her head, resettled. “That’s all I want,” she said.

Taako very nearly rolled his eyes. They were both trying to look out for him in one way or another, like he wasn’t a grown-ass elf who could handle himself. But it was fine. Felt good, even, to have all these people in his corner. Made it easy to be soft, knowing that he’d always had and always would have a safety net to fall back on; first in the form of Lup, and then Magnus and Merle and Dav and the rest of his growing family.

He couldn’t imagine ever losing a single one of them. Didn’t seem like a possibility.

And now, Kravitz...if Taako didn’t already believe that he was on the level, the sincerity in his voice would go a long way towards reassurance.

“I believe you. We’ll both do better, vis-à-vis communication. Also, Barold? You see how this goes in this family?” Taako said, trying for light, ready for the scrutiny to be elsewhere. “Don’t make me set one of these little chats up, you get me?”

"You've got me plenty scared bud, I promise," Barry said. "But, if you uh, if you wanna do another interrogation like this for me, I’m game if there’s food. This is a lot better than I normally eat."

Kravitz laughed. He was still antsy from nerves, but it came out close to genuine. "You know, same. If not for this, I would be eating cuisine à la Kashi at best."

Every time Taako thought about Kravitz’s shitty ass frozen meals in his shitty ass apartment, it hurt a little. Kravitz deserved better! He, Taako, could help! And Kravitz could love him! And he could love Kravitz! And that would work out just fine!

...He could _love_ Kravitz? Fuck, was that a new thought? Fuck. Fuck, _fuck_— “Well I did promise I’d cook for you,” Taako said with a smile. “Ta-da! You’re welcome.”

He needed to pull his shit together, he had not even kissed this man. Just sort of mutually masturbated over Grindr… Jeezy creezy, what was his life?

For once, Lup didn’t pick up on his internal monologue going off the rails. She laughed at his deliberate bravado. “That’s fair, I guess. But Kashi’s not that bad, as far as frozen food goes. I’ve deffo eaten worse,” she said.

“Remind me to send a chicken breast home with you, there should be a couple left over and someone oughta eat them,” Taako said to Kravitz.

"We're kind of already in Angus's house," Barry said. He grinned at Taako. "Wouldn't it make more sense to leave the leftovers in his fridge?"

Kravitz was still bowled over by Taako’s offer. Taako was flirty, yes. Witty. Entertaining. Brilliant. But sweet? That was something he'd only seen in flashes, and he loved it. "Counting the sandwiches at work, you cook for me every weekday, love." And he couldn't be more grateful. Taako was responsible for about three-quarters of his vegetable consumption.

Taako smiled a little goofily. ‘Love’ was one hell of a pet name, and it landed a lot harder when Kravitz broke it out in person. “Yeah, well...well what’m I gonna do, let Krav starve? Also? You’re cranky when you’re hungry, babe, just so you know,” Taako teased. 

“Ooh, a hangry man. Probably best we let you eat these leftovers, then. Taako will fix something else tomorrow anyway,” Lup conceded lightly.

"Am I, really?" Kravitz asked, more than willing to go along with the premise. Lup's sudden congeniality was a huge relief. Being on poor terms with Taako's sister would be awful; he badly wanted to pass muster. "Well, thank you for putting up with me, then. And for cooking such a wonderful dinner."

He tamped down the impulse to take Taako's hand in his. Spending so much of every day together but never quite touching was torture. The sense-memory of embracing Taako on Saturday burned like an ember beneath his skin.

By the end of this night, he hoped to know where they stood with physical intimacy. He could go the rest of his life never knowing Taako’s embrace again, and still relish his company—but it would be a bittersweet existence. Seeing Lup and Barry link hands on the other side of the table only underscored that.

Fortunately, Kravitz and Taako were each learning to ask for what they wanted. They need only await the privacy to do so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*+{BLUPJEANS DATE TRACKER}+*~
> 
> 5) Tuesday the 2nd of July  
-Honestly, there's probably been at least one date off-screen since 6/20. But here we are, having a double-date at the kid's house: cooking dinner, reviewing an essay about the toxicity of insecticide synergists, and interrogating Lup's brother's new boyfriend. You know. Your typical romantic activities.
> 
> ~+*{LOVE METER: A profoundly odd flavor of domestic bliss}*+~
> 
> *
> 
> Just a few days after this, Lup meets Lucretia late at night and they take a walk in the rain. That story was told in ["If you like piña coladas"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23676973)... Which is now available as a podfic by the wonderful quoththegayven! Listen [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24014752), and please leave her a kudos as thanks for her hard work!


	28. Taste Your Lips/kiss me slowly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baking hour with Taako and Kravitz! What's for dessert?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Grandpa has been Ronald McDonald in our draft since last November. I kind of forgot how that would hit before the chapter was up for posting.

"So," Barry started. He had followed Lup into the kitchen with dirty dishes and was now rinsing while she loaded the dishwasher. "What's for dessert? I saw ice cream in the freezer.”

“We’ve gooooot sangria brownie tarts,” Taako called from the table dramatically. “Krav, you ready to show me those shortcake skills? Same principle, different ingredients, this is a test.”

“Oh, boy,” Lup said. “I remember last time. It went relatively okay, points for persistence, but I’m still excited by the potential for comedy. And the whipped cream’s fake, Care-Bear.”

“Awww, good looking out, thanks, babe,” Barry replied, like he hadn’t been jonesing for ice cream five seconds ago. He helpfully pulled a plastic wrapped bowl of lumpy brownie batter out of the fridge and nudged Lup to let him take over at the dishwasher.

Baffled, Kravitz watched as Lup washed her hands and then grated an orange into the batter. She followed up with a third of a cup of nice red wine. Mysteries. He resolved to stay out of her way and cast around for something to help with. Taako peeled himself out of his chair with a stretch and a groan, so Kravitz swept by the table and gathered the remaining dishes. He began rinsing at the sink while Taako fetched a container of pitted cherries from the fridge.

"Shoulda known she wouldn't let me eat ice cream," Barry told Kravitz, when he came back from collecting the McDonalds's dishes. He set the plates down and rummaged in the cabinets for tupperware. Ronald looked to have taken his food in small bites, and eaten only half. Kravitz found himself even more worried for Angus.

"Aren’t you lactose intolerant?" Kravitz asked.

"Yeah, but you know, I've got Lactaid. I woulda been mostly fine."

Lup snorted. “It’s easier just to make the substitution, silly!”

“Don’t wanna send you off to be Lup’s first client, my dude,” Taako teased. He gave the bowl of wine-soaked berries a stir and popped it back in the fridge for the time being.

"I've got an iron stomach," Barry deadpanned. "And the best girlfriend, all watching out for me anyway."

Taako started readying the muffin tins for batter. Kravitz wordlessly handed him the box of paper baking cups without having to be asked. Working in tandem with this group was surprisingly easy. The twins had years of practice, natch, but it was surprising to see what a long way a couple Thursday nights in a cramped booth went. Kravitz and Barry were both demonstrably deficient in the kitchen, and yet they seemed to always be exactly where they were needed.

It was nice. Felt easy. Taako felt great, having Kravitz pay attention to him, ready to back his efforts up. 

Kravitz stuck to Taako’s side of the kitchen, occasionally permitting himself to watch Lup and Barry for a moment. They were so sweet. Obnoxious, to be sure, but in a way he deeply envied. He wanted to achieve that with Taako. Right now, he felt like all he could do was exist as a shadow, hovering at the periphery of a happy family. Hoping that he wouldn't prove burdensome.

Eventually, the dishwasher was loaded and the handwashing and drying were dispensed with. Kravitz puttered around, looking in the glass-faced cabinets to find homes for the clean dishes.

Lup cut in. "Hey, how about we swap jobs? I know where everything goes already, and you look like a dude that I can make stir this batter for me."

"You could make me stir the batter," Barry offered.

"Don't give me that, babe! I love you, but you're a heinous, batter-licking criminal. There's raw eggs in this, and I'm not trusting you to make good choices."

Kravitz accepted the bowl and spatula from Lup while she bantered with Barry. Distantly remembering previous forays into baking, he scraped down the sides of the bowl, and then was at a loss.

Wasn't overmixing bad? How much mixing was too much? What texture was the batter supposed to be? The red wine had only helped the lumpiness a little, and what was he to do with the heaped shavings of orange peel? Perhaps those were supposed to dissolve.

Taako noticed the confusion on Kravitz’s face. This poor man. “Just stir it together, nice and easy. It’s still gonna be lumpy ‘cause of the chocolate chunks, but get rid of the wine swirls,” he instructed.

He slid the muffin tin over and moved closer to Kravitz. Barry and Lup were putting away clean dishes, they were busy. “You ever do brownies from a box? It’s just that but with some extras,” he continued helpfully.

"I always found box mix to be...more uniform? Less textured," Kravitz replied.

Taako grinned. “This is the good stuff, Box Mix 2.0. You’ll see.”

Kravitz followed Taako's lead and stepped to the side, taking over the small square of counter between the fridge and whirring dishwasher. Not nearly out of Barry and Lup's earshot, but as far away as they could get without being obvious. "I've missed you this evening. We've barely gotten to talk."

Taako fidgeted with a paper muffin liner. “I’ve missed you too. Sorry ‘bout Lup coming for you, she was a little thrown by the whole...thing, I guess.”

He glanced over just in time to see Lup hip-bump Barry, who spinned to kiss the top of her head as she laughed. She just wanted that for him. Dinner was uncomfortable, but he couldn’t blame her for setting this up. He wanted that happiness too, and this evening was working out to be a step towards it.

Kravitz slowly stirred, watching the batter turn dark and silky. He was acutely aware of how close Taako had crowded in. He wanted nothing more than to lean back against his chest. "I have to admit, I've been at a loss as to what degree of, well, physical contact would be appropriate for a dinner like this. I want to be more affectionate, but I’d rather not mack on you in front of your sister."

Taako laughed. “I’mma be honest with you, _they’d_ do it. Remember how we kept having to get after ‘em in the booth? They never do stop.”

He paused, then put his hand over Kravitz’s to stop him stirring. “That’s good, see? All even.” He glanced back to make sure Lup and her “Care-Bear” were still distracting each other. “I’ve been thinking we should probably— Like as a whole, affection and all of it? Maybe we could kinda just treat this like new. Since we’re both on the same page now. For the first few dates, you learn about each other as you go along, right? So, what else do you do, you work and you study, do you hang out with friends, or...?”

Kravitz set the bowl down with a clunk. He took Taako's hand. "Oh my _gods._ Have we never talked about any of that? Though—there isn't—much to say. Um, reconnecting with Johann was new. I don't...usually...associate with my classmates. It's um, you remember that I missed a critical chunk of my last fall semester?"

The stammering was _cute_. Here was a boy who could pull shitty accents out of his butt or speak like a professional elocutor, in knots because Taako was interested in his life. “Yeah, babe, ‘course I remember.”

He did, Taako remembered it all, and how difficult it was. He barely knew Kravitz yet, but he had been worried. Missing that much school had to mean something serious was up. He squeezed Kravitz’s hand, right as Lup brandished the sink sprayer in Barry’s direction and Barry raised his hands in surrender, laughing the whole time.

"I ended up lagging my cohort," Kravitz said. Feeling slightly daring, he leaned into Taako's space. The overlap of physical closeness and the topic under discussion was almost enough to make his head spin. His eyes were so dry they ached. He rasped his tongue across his lips and forced the words out. "That's why— Well, I had to repeat some classes, in the spring. And I'm taking two this summer, and graduating late. I've been working very hard to catch up. But I've completely lost touch with my cohort. They, well, they've all graduated. Except Siobhan. I think she switched her major to communications, but I’m not sure. I never see her around."

Taako gave Kravitz’s hand another squeeze. As school problems went, graduating late was moderately crappy, but it was hardly Kravitz’s fault. And he was catching up, he’d make it! The stress he was under made a lot more sense though, for sure.

“Well that sucks, didn’t any of ‘em check on you? Didn’t anyone? Those sound like shit friends, you deserve better than that, babe.” He released Kravitz’s hand, pulled the muffin tray into place, and picked up the bowl of batter. “Half-full for these,” he said, starting to divide the batter up into the cups.

Kravitz helped out by holding the bowl for Taako. Behind him, he heard the distinctive wet smack of an enthusiastic kiss. Taako was right; Lup and Barry clearly had minimal compunctions about PDA. "In their defense, I don't make myself easy to reach. I'm not on social media, and I'm not great at answering texts—excepting those from you. 

“Well, guess that makes me special,” Taako said lightly.

Kravitz laughed. Taako _was_ special. “But that's quite enough about my lack of a social circle. How did you become close with _Merle,_ of all people?"

“Merle’s been around...wow, at least a decade. Time is fuckin’ wild. Anyway, Davenport was good friends with my aunt way back when, and he’s been with Merle for a long while now— Which just goes to show that he’s the kind of guy who’s secretly a couple decades older on the inside. Like you.”

Kravitz scoffed playfully and bumped his elbow against Taako’s chest. “Duly noted. Go on. So you knew him through family, but how did you become friends? The two of you couldn’t be more dissimilar.”

“Yeah, well, the short of it is that Mags accidentally started a bar fight while I was hustling pool and Merle facilitated our escape before anyone broke anything. He and Dav are both pretty sturdy like that, good guys to have at your back. Though it’s deffo Merle that’s the peacekeeper.” Davenport would have been more likely to end the fight by obliterating his opponents, in body or at least in dignity. Compared to that, the swarm of locusts Merle summoned to cover their escape was a light touch.

“They told us when an apartment opened up in their building, actually. That’s how we got our place. We even got a break on rent; Dav knows the landlord,” Taako continued. A fond smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. As far as he was concerned, having good friends close by was better than having a birth family. You couldn’t pick your blood relatives. He and Lup certainly wouldn’t have picked theirs.

“That’s very lucky,” Kravitz said. “From what I’ve seen of your building, it’s quite nice. Can I change the subject to how Magnus _accidentally_ started a bar fight?”

“Nope, you’re not off the hook. You only think that’s wild because you don’t know the guy well enough.” Taako smirked as he doled out batter. “C’mon, who did you get into bar fights with when you were young and dumb? Younger and dumber, I mean. Right now it kinda seems like I should suspect you’re secret royalty or witness protection. Aren’t there neighbors or folks you grew up with? School friends?”

Kravitz raised an eyebrow and angled the bowl so Taako could scrape up the last dregs of batter. "I could turn that question back on you! But I suppose I've met enough of your current friends to have allayed any suspicions I might have about your background. I know you're not secret royalty, despite your endearing charm."

Taako snorted. “I wish! But that doesn’t mean _you_ aren’t. C’mon, babe, you said you’d be honest with me,” he pouted. He dropped his spatula in the bowl and put his hands over Kravitz’s. “Anyone else important to you? Out of town, maybe? Are you an alien, you gotta tell me if I’m gonna smooch an alien; it’s not a dealbreaker, but I wanna know, y’know?”

Speaking of, Kravitz did want to kiss Taako. The impulse felt a little dishonest, like a deflection from an uncomfortable topic. But mostly, Taako's hands were warm and charmingly rough, nicked and calloused from kitchen work. Whatever he used to moisturize smelled amazing.

"I definitely don't want to seem dishonest. Can't have that,” Kravitz declared. “I'm from out of town, originally. A sleepy little suburb up north. I moved here for college, so everyone I knew is still up there. Though you can probably guess that I wasn't a social butterfly in high school either. You remember that I was in foster care?"

Now they were getting somewhere. Even if Taako wasn’t quite ready to talk about his expulsion, he had talked about Lup and his friends. And his aunt, and even mentioned the homes before her, while she worked to get to where she could care for them. Apples to apples, right?

Taako nodded. “Yeah, of course, we talked about it some. Were you in the same place for all of foster care or...?” He let Kravitz put the empty bowl down, then returned to holding hands.

Kravitz stared intently at Taako's palms, turning them over in his. "Yes. I was lucky. I was in and out of quite a few homes, but I only had to move schools for it once. All my foster parents were adherents of the Raven Queen, and from the same congregation, so they lived quite close by each other. How about yourself? You mentioned an aunt?"

“We can come back to her, babe, we’re talking about you. Do you still keep in touch with any of ‘em or anything? I get that those can be a mixed bag, but, y’know. Ever go back for holidays or— I don’t really know a lot about the Raven Queen, whatever all’s special?”

"Isn't she the big spooky death goddess? Lup put in from across the kitchen. "She has a wicked aesthetic. Is _that_ how your program is religious, Krav? Is it a _musical death_ program?"

"Babe, c'mon, let the boys bond," Barry said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She grinned at him. "We can fuck off while the brownies are in the oven. Answer the question, ghost rider!"

“Lemme get ‘em in there,” Taako declared, hustling.

Kravitz rolled his eyes at Lup. "Yes and yes. She's not all about death, you know. We're called to respect the place loss has in the cycle of our shared history, but rejuvenation and new growth are also important. One of the precepts is the acknowledgement that death is a natural, universal experience—and that, however tragic it may be, life continues on."

Taako grinned and double-checked the thermometer in the oven for insurance. Figured he’d end up surrounded by spooky nerds. It kinda fit Krav, though. For sure continuing on after loss was him to a T. It made sense that he’d be drawn to something so inescapable as the cycle of life, growth, and death. That steady feeling, kinda like how even when Taako thought it was over, the two of them had just started again.

“I’m glad you have something, like it kinda helps it all make sense, right?” Taako said, setting a timer for the brownies. “It’s very you.”

Lup gave a low whistle. "Wow, bro, my teeth are rotting. You guys have fun, and don't get _busy_ and let the brownies burn!"

Barry gave them a wave and followed Lup into the den. Before the door closed, Kravitz could hear them warmly greet Angus.

The house seemed a lot larger and emptier with only himself and Taako left in the kitchen. He smiled. It was nostalgic, in its own way. "Is there anything else you want to know, or is it my turn to ask questions? For the record, I don't consider alienhood a deal breaker either, and you don't have to tell me before we smooch. I wouldn't mind."

Taako giggled. “I’m not, I’m not. I’d’ve remembered if I was, I’m _sure._ I guess it’s only fair that you get to ask some questions too though, so long as we’re both in a talking mood.”

Kravitz leaned up against the counter next to Taako. "I appreciate your concern for fair play, but now I'm at an utter loss as to what to ask you first. Um. Favorite...food?"

Taako thought for a moment. “Gods, there’s so many. Chili, though, when there’s a little bit of a nip in the air? When it’s done right? Love that.” He nodded decisively. “Can I ask you that one back? It’s important to me, as the chef in this relationship.”

Kravitz loved this. _Relationship._ So much insecurity was burned away by the validation of his hope that he and Taako might become an official thing. Tonight especially, with Lup in the mix, he felt like he'd passed some sort of test. "I really like casseroles. And enchiladas. Now I'm making myself hungry, thinking of all the foods I miss. I'm sick of microwave cooking."

“Oooh, enchiladas, that’s very good, hmmm. Casseroles are also great if you wanna eat on ‘em for a bit, if you’re busy or what have you. I make those with Ango and then he can just reheat ‘em. We should do that sometime,” Taako said.

Really the obstacle was that Kravitz didn’t have an oven, but that was hardly an obstacle when _Taako_ had an oven. If they were dating, why shouldn’t they be cute and cook together? They could do casseroles, soups, easy, reheatable things. Maybe crockpot stuff, too? It would be way better than TV dinners.

It sort of dimly occurred to Taako that he’d had this man for less than a week and was already planning his meals for the next six months. But they were _boyfriends_, and he didn’t want to worry about being too much, too fast.

For now, Kravitz was letting Taako interlace their fingers and meeting his eyes with a sincere smile. "I would love that. I would always want to help with temple potlucks, and I would usually get stuck on dish duty."

“Temple potlucks are good. I dunno how the RQ parties, but Angus’s temple has thrown some bangers. It really helps to have a stove for prep when you’re bringing dishes— Hey, put a pin in that for later,” Taako said.

“I’m not certain you’re using the word ‘banger’ correctly, but absolutely,” Kravitz agreed. He was wrapped up in the same fantasy as Taako. They were both picturing future days together, comfortable and bright.

Kravitz was sure he was getting ahead of himself. They hadn't even kissed... But he knew how Taako liked to be touched when he came. What a stupendously awkward place to be. "So! Your aunt, did she cook? How did you come into your talent?"

Taako peered through the oven door. The brownies were rising evenly. “My aunt taught me to cook when I was just a kid still. She was good at it to begin with, but then I kinda had a knack for building on the basic stuff she taught me. It‘s like, if you learn some fundamentals, you can eat food like people usually do, or get fancy with it, or stretch it a long way. All kinds of options. But at the end of the day, _everyone_ needs to eat, even the folks who don’t know a spatula from a strainer. That’s why I want to become a chef. The guy with the food is someone that’s always needed. If you’re that guy, everyone’s happy to see you.”

"I think that's very noble of you," Kravitz said with a smile. He considered giving Taako his hand back—but nah. He couldn’t see himself growing weary of the novelty of physical contact any time soon. There was a deep pit in his heart, bored so cleanly that he’d stopped noticing the edges until now, with Taako’s touch crumbling them. "You're right, you provide a service everyone needs. You even go above and beyond with innovations to make your meals a good experience. I never enjoyed sandwiches so much before I tried yours. And are you not already a chef?"

Taako, a chef? His ears flicked. Functionally? Arguably? Maybe. Kinda. “I mean... yeah. Sure am running that kitchen, you know—“ he broke off with a laugh. “I made it, huh? Wow, yeah, hard to believe, sometimes.”

Now that Kravitz thought about it, he remembered vague allusions to some problem T_sizzle had with his culinary program. He tamped down a wince and rubbed a soothing circle between Taako’s knuckles with his thumb. The last thing he wanted to do tonight was ruin the mood by bringing up painful memories. Making Taako feel good was his highest priority. "Did you know that Brad pays you quite a bit more than me? I have to admit, I've become convinced it's well-deserved. There are very few people who could do what you do."

Taako relaxed a little, relieved that Kravitz wasn’t pushing the subject. One day Taako would tell him, but they were starting over fresh. And he wanted to make sure Kravitz wouldn’t scamper off again right when they’d just fixed things. “For real? It’s sweet of you to let me know, babe,” he said. “I didn’t realize there was a difference, I kinda figured I was just pulling extra hours.”

"That certainly helps too. Lately I'm doing well myself, with all that overtime pay." Kravitz was optimistic that he wouldn't have to take on too much more debt for his final semester. Though tonight that wasn't a conversational topic he wanted to touch on with his hopefully—_please,_ dear Lady of Ravens—boyfriend.

They were still boyfriends, right? Or did Taako's insistence on 'starting over' mean they weren't quite there yet? Kravitz knew he should ask outright, and yet...

"What would you be doing if you weren't a chef?" Kravitz asked abruptly. "For me, I seriously considered going into the clergy. But you need preternatural patience with people for that sort of thing, and I'm also not the most social person."

Taako almost blushed. “It’s silly,” he said. “Like I tried, kinda, when I was in school, but... Social media influencer. Turns out that’s not easy to break into. I also thought about traditional modeling. My heart said ‘do it!’ but my teeth said ‘learn a skill!’” He laughed. “But the industry’s not ready to think outside of the box yet, so they’re not ready for _me_. Plus, I don’t like feeling like a piece of meat. I’d rather do the artsy side than just be gawked at, y’know?”

Kravitz laughed. He raised Taako's hand in his, running his thumb across the knuckles. "I could see it. Being a social media influencer is like being an advertiser, right? I think you would do well.The spiels you come up with for selling food and drink at our booth have always been effective. Do you have an... Instantgram? That I could follow? I could download the app."

Taako snorted. Fuckin’ amazing. He was never gonna correct Krav’s pronunciation. “Not at the moment. Maybe one of these days. Turns out it’s a kinda volatile thing? I wanted more stability than that. But maybe I’ll start one up again. We could take pictures together and everyone’ll be jealous.”

Maybe he could just have that, without all the hoopla of staged photos and trying to attract attention. Maybe Taako could have a normal profile where he could post normal pictures of a normal, steady life with a normal, steady boyfriend. That could be a change from trying Lup’s patience (she loved it, come on) by making her play photographer for 30 slightly different shots of sultry smiles, strategically mussed clothing, and plates of dessert.

A broad grin broke across Kravitz's face. He squeezed Taako's hand. He couldn't get enough of touching his skin. "I would love to take pictures with you. Does this mean—well, would you still use the word 'boyfriends' to describe us?"

Taako blinked. That sure was a question Kravitz had just asked him, but this was a date. Their second! Or third, if you counted the first one… Which, mmm, maybe not. "I mean you do wanna be, right? I was only so upset on Thursday 'cause I thought...yeah, we're boyfriends, as far as I'm concerned.”

"For a while, I was fairly certain I'd had my boyfriend privileges revoked. Thank you for giving this another chance." Carefully, Kravitz brushed a kiss across the back of Taako's hand.

Taako’s ears fluttered in time with his heart. The back of his hand tingled delightfully. How impossibly sweet? Like, obviously, yes to hot, passionate kisses and hands everywhere and strange places and loud bedframes, but also _yes_ to sweet, romantic stuff like hand kisses, oh, that was the jackpot, baby!

It took him a second to get himself under control enough to reply. "Well...well, you gave me another chance, too. I guess we can just like, keep giving each other chances maybe?"

"I'm on board for that." Kravitz stepped in closer, crowding Taako against the counter. "Next time I need another chance, I'll confess to you instead of scrambling to cover my error. If you would please promise to not yell."

Taako laughed, a little giddier than he'd planned. "I'm not gonna yell at you again. We'll have to come up with some good ways to make up, huh?" he said, arching an eyebrow.

"Mmm, sharing dinner like this was an excellent start." Kravitz's eyes combed over Taako's expression. The blush dusting his cheeks was promising, but—

No. But nothing. Kravitz forced himself to halt his calculations. There would never be a _perfect_ moment, as far as his insecurities were concerned. Any discomfort was cast from the mold of his anxiety.

This time, instead of letting his fear of rejection consume him, he would allow Taako to decide. As he should have always done. "May I kiss you?"

Taako felt heat gather in his cheeks. Finally. _Finally!_ "Yes, abso—c'mere," he answered, and tilted his face just enough for his lips to meet Kravitz's.

Their kiss was exactly as soft as Kravitz expected. Gentle warmth like the purest sunlight radiated from the contact. Taako's lips fit perfectly to his, even as he fought down the smile curving them.

He brought his hand up to caress Taako's face. He deepened the kiss, brushing fingertips through wild, flyaway hair, curled from the oven's heat.

Taako made a needy sound into his mouth. Of course, of _course_ Kravitz was a good kisser. Taako would have to ask whether one of the many instruments his boyfriend—_his boyfriend!_—played was French horn, 'cause he'd heard some rumors and they were looking quite possibly true. Just right, full and balanced with reverence and passion.

Taako would very much like to kiss like this on the regular. And hey, he could! He tangled eager fingers into Kravitz's shirt and kissed back, for once unselfconscious and happy. That certainly did something for Kravitz. He made a soft, pleased sound against Taako's mouth. Gently, he took Taako's lower lip between his teeth.

And then the oven timer blared. Kravitz startled in Taako's arms and accidentally bit his lip a little too hard. They were both jarred against the counter as Kravitz pulled his face away and slipped; it was all Taako could do to help him keep balance. The door to the den banged open.

"What's happening, fellas?" Lup crowed. "Looks like I'm definitely interrupting _something,_ huh?"

"Lup, _gods!"_ Taako whined, flipping her off. "Get the brownies, I'm _busy!"_

He leaned his forehead against Kravitz's shoulder and wheezed a laugh. What a way to start out, huh, biting and intrusive family members. He sucked on his swollen lip. It fit them, honestly.

Lup snickered and went to pull the brownies out and silence the timer as Barry appeared in the door. "I won the bet, babe," she informed him smugly.

Barry chuckled. "Let me know when you want me to pay up," he said with a wink.

"Were you—were you betting on your brother's romantic endeavors?" Kravitz squeaked, utterly scandalized. He wound his arms protectively around Taako and eased him away from being pressed into the counter.

"Doesn't surprise me, babe, I did the same thing with Mags about her and Barry. Won that one, too," Taako said archly.

"Yeah, but that was _easy mode,_ you had to know we'd get together eventually!" Lup protested.

"Yeah, but Mags thought it'd take three whole private study dates. I know my twin.”

"This is just how you both are," Kravitz said, wonder and horror warring in his tone. He hid his face in Taako's hair.

"Yup. Better get used to them," Barry agreed. "And Magnus should have known his estimate would be biased from how protracted his romance with Julia was. Apparently, working for her dad made him worse about dragging his feet than the two of you."

"Are the brownies ready yet, ma'am? My grandpa needs to go to bed soon," Angus called, popping up behind Barry. Kravitz raised his head in time to catch a smug look flit across Angus's face. "Ah, I can wait with him back in here! I’m just a little boy, I don’t want to see any hanky-panky."

Kravitz dropped his arms, but stayed in Taako's space. "Why don't we eat dessert together?" he offered. "What do you think, love?"

Taako reached up to give Kravitz a little peck, just because he could. “Sure thing, let’s get these put together. Gonna make the _boyfriend_ here handle the whipped cream.”

"Anything for you, dearest," Kravitz replied. Completely unguarded, his face softened into a sappy, joyous expression that was previously unknown to both him and Taako. He’d never been more handsome.

Angus rolled his eyes. "I'm very happy for you, sirs, but please rein in your cooties. There are children present."

Kravitz snorted and shifted maybe a quarter-inch away from Taako. "We'll compromise. Dessert first, cooties later."

Angus nodded with a grin. "Sounds fair! I want extra whipped cream."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About time.
> 
> *  
*  
*  
*
> 
> Addressing the misapprehensions of Kravitz, concerning orange zest:  
-One does not grate the entire orange, pith and peel alike. That's not what Lup was doing.  
-While the peel is not customarily eaten, it does impart a lovely citrus flavor when used in baking.  
-Yes, the flavor was the point. Not the texture. It's not meant to add texture, and that texture would not be like pencil shavings, and if it was, Lup would not enjoy it. Lup is valid to grate an orange.


	29. Let Me Be the Beginning/story of your life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako and Kravitz get called in to work on a Saturday—and it's actually an okay time?
> 
> Natch. They're together, after all. That makes everything perfect.

The next several days passed in a bit of a blur for Taako. Stunning how smoothly things could go with a soft smile waiting on the other side of the kitchen door and “have a good time in class, babe” replacing terse goodbyes. He and Kravitz worked well together now, even pulling off another festival without a hiccup.

Saturday rolled around and brought with it something unusual: more work. Taako traipsed into the store to find Brad manning the register. Killian stood at the corner of the counter, trying to fiddle with her camera one-handed while Carey, who was sitting with her blue tail rolling across the glass, held her right arm hostage. In the main aisle, Angus and Lucretia were inspecting the ‘jars of weird pickled veggies’ shelf.

And there was Kravitz in the middle of it all, holding things together as usual.

“Hey guys,” Taako said in greeting, garnering scattered hellos in return. “Front page news, huh?”

“Well, not front page, but I can squeeze you into the lifestyle and events section,” Lucretia said with a poised little smile. She pulled out a pen and walked up to the register as Killian freed her arm from Carey. “I’d like to start with you, Mr. Bradson. What’s new at Far Corners? What can our readers expect?”

Brad folded his hands and smiled around his tusks. Killian motioned for him to bend his knees a bit, so he wouldn't be towering over the deli counter, and snapped a quick picture. "We're very excited to explore avenues for expanding the products we offer. Our prepared foods have become wildly popular in only a few short weeks. We plan to continue with daily sandwiches, sides, and pastry, and we hope to introduce a wider variety of dishes soon."

Lucretia's pen flew across her notepad. That was oldschool, her going with paper instead of recording on her phone. Kravitz cocked his head. Her hair was white, perhaps dyed, but she looked so young. He would place her around Magnus's age, and yet she was already a consummate professional.

Faster than should’ve been possible, she finished writing and spoke up. "Right now, Far Corners serves lunch on weekdays, as well as participating in the Olive Avenue Music Blockfest, Thursday evenings from June thirteenth through August fifteenth. But, while your booth always features a bar, and the store has a wide alcohol selection, you don't actually serve drinks in the shop. Are there any plans for this to change?"

“I’ve considered it, though that would require more staff and maybe even more space. Without making promises, I will say that we’re definitely opening a position shortly. I’m very excited to add a new face to the team here,” Brad answered.

Taako grinned as Killian took a photo of Carey showing off the shelf of various imported cookies in colorful packages. They were so cute. From what he’d seen of them, they just really worked as a couple. Carey talked about date stuff she and Killian got up to on the reg, and they ate lunch together more days than not. That was the dream, right? Having someone you could always count on, day in and day out.

He glanced over at Kravitz, holding up the wall by the bulletin board and intently listening to Brad’s answers like the nerd he was. Just seeing his concentrating face made Taako’s heart feel all fuzzy.

Lucretia smiled at Brad. “That is very exciting. And I understand from our previous interview that you offer delivery, is that for fresh food as well?”

Brad shook his head. "Not at present; we don’t utilize any third-party services, and I’m frankly not interested in starting. Angus makes deliveries two to three times a week, and our available selection includes all the dry goods, wines and spirits, and deli case items that can be browsed in our store or on our website. To best enjoy the fresh and unique tastes of our prepared foods, we recommend coming into the store or finding our booth on Olive Avenue. Taako here is our chef, the mastermind behind our menu. He practically built our kitchen from the ground up."

Alright, time for Taako to step in. He offered up his best jaunty smile for the camera. So far, both Lucretia and Brad had sounded like they were reading off cue cards. Wouldn’t it be something if this could’ve been an email instead of everyone getting dragged into the store on a Saturday? Not that he was gonna object to being made the center of attention. And, with Kravitz here, he had nothing to complain about.

Taako sashayed up to the counter. “I’m real happy with how this project is going, word seems to be getting around. I’m hoping to continue to grow this thing—Brad’s right, it’s kinda my baby, y’know. I want it to be something unique that folks’ll enjoy.”

“Such as?” Lucretia prompted.

“Well…” Taako cocked his head. “Alright, get this: everything we serve in-store uses ingredients from our shelves. That giardiniera you saw? That’s veggie relish, goes on the best muffalettas you’ll ever have. We’ve got a whole bunch of fancy jams I use in danishes, mango-peach and blackberry bourbon and my personal fave, key lime. My whole bag is coming up with combos that’ll knock your socks off. That’s why you don’t just get a chicken panini—here, it’s a chicken panini with avocado, bacon relish, and our absolutely stellar brie.”

“That’s a good answer. You took care of my next two questions,” Lucretia said. She switched hands and somehow kept writing. “Also? Wow, I’m hungry now. What’s the best way for my readers to get down on your baller cooking?”

“Carey here puts our lunch menu up on facebook the night before. For sure keep an eye out for anything new, and come see us at our festival booth. Nothing goes better with good music than good food—except maybe good liquor.” He caught Kravitz’s eye and they exchanged smiles.

Lucretia stepped aside so Killian could snap a photo of Taako and Brad at the register. “That’s true, and your drinks menu looked great when we stopped by the booth,” she said. “I’ve already spotted a few intriguing bottles on the shelves here. What can you tell me about your selection?”

Brad gestured for Kravitz to take over. He snapped to attention. Taako was an enthralling speaker; Kravitz could listen to him all day.

Hard to believe that, a few weeks ago, he’d been anxious about Taako rising to prominence and upending the store. The energy he wasted on being territorial was ridiculous in hindsight. Taako being hired didn’t mean that Kravitz was going to be run off; his position was secure, it was only nerves that told him otherwise. He could wholeheartedly support the new menu—and enjoy his lovely boyfriend making him lunch every day.

"Ah, if not for our wonderful customers, we wouldn't be able to experiment with what we order as much,” Kravitz said. “We maintain a robust selection of imported and domestic products catered to our clientele. Our chief goal is to provide a unique experience you won't find anywhere else. We make sure to always have something new on the shelves."

Lucretia flipped to the next page of her notepad. "Let’s pull a few bottles for pictures. Okay, back to the food angle, since this is a follow-up to that piece on the booth you all did at the marathon; Taako, let's talk about your background. Where did you train as a chef?"

“Uhhh, at Waverly State,” Taako answered. He felt itchy. He didn’t really wanna...go there, today. Better lean on experience. “I’ve been in the restaurant industry my entire career,” he added quickly. “Started out bussing tables, and now look. Chase your dreams, kids.” He chuckled, hoping it didn’t sound too forced.

"You're very young to helm a kitchen," Lucretia replied, quirking a smile. "Excuse me for saying so, but I'm familiar with being underestimated because of my assumed lack of experience. Did you start at Far Corners immediately after graduation?"

Taako started to feel sweaty. Brad knew he hadn’t finished school, and had hired him based on experience, but that was different from a newspaper article rehashing all that shit. “Y’know, it’s like I always say, gotta make your own luck,” he answered evasively. “Straight out of school and into the kitchen, y’know, no waiting.” Nailed it? Nailed it. Hopefully.

It didn’t escape Kravitz that Taako’s ears had pinned back against his head. Lucretia's line of questioning was clearly making him anxious. Kravitz recognized poor attempts at evasion when he saw them; he was a consummate expert in such failures.

Unfortunately, that tell seemed to be lost on Lucretia. She pushed her round, wire-frame glasses up her nose. They made her eyes look disproportionately huge and searching. "I know you used to work at Lup’s sports bar, but where else did you gain experience before coming to Far Corners? And how did that shape your menu decisions?"

Taako relaxed slightly. “You’ve probably heard of the place, rhymes with Bolive Barden,” he joked. “I started out bussing tables and washing dishes in highschool.”

Honestly? That experience had sucked. Nothing against the job, but the other cool teens got to hang out and do extracurriculars. The twins stopped counting how many parties they missed. Shit was depressing. Unfortunately, there was no getting around the fact that the second they aged out of foster care they’d be on their own for food and shelter (on top of all that emotional support stuff their state-appointed guardians couldn’t be bothered with). And they had big dreams with big price tags: namely, higher education.

Most of those dreams hadn’t worked out yet. Taako’s glib smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “The main thing I learned there is that folks’ll eat almost anything layered on enough carbs, which is useful knowledge. Gives a solid base for creativity, y’know.”

Overall, this conversational tack was an improvement, but Taako wasn’t about to relax. At any moment Lucretia might decide to dig more into school and—oh no.

What if she already knew? She was a journalist, what if she had asked the right people the right questions? Shit, he hoped not.

Lucretia nodded, inscrutable, and continued scribbling down his answers. "That's quite the career jump. How would you describe your vision for the future of the Far Corners menu?"

Taako thought for a moment. "I'd like… I think it could be a unique little spot in the world. I'd love for it to be the type of place folks come because it's easy, but not a boring cookie cutter thing. If we expand further, maybe into drinks or cafe seating, it'd be cool if we were a local go-to for laid back chats and tasty food, and a bottle of wine to take home. Who knows? One step at a time, obviously, but I’m looking forward to see what happens.”

The future would be better than the past. Taako would make sure, as far as that depended on him. And he had Kravitz now, with him instead of against him. No one needed to worry about what had or hadn't happened with culinary school. Gods, he was still rattled by Lucretia's questions, he needed to hold it together.

Lucretia lowered her pen. Taako’s heart started seizing. He could tell this was gonna be bad from her first word. "I think that's wonderfully put. I admit to having done my research into your background. Would you be willing to talk about how you overcame such a setback? I'd be very interested to hear more about how you turned things around for your career."

Taako’s whole brain was eclipsed by a flock of very loud exclamation points. Oh _absofuckinglutely not._ How was he gonna get out of this thing? He couldn’t just say the interview was over and get up and walk out, not without making it obvious that there was something wrong. And he didn’t want to tell Lucretia outright that he fucking hated that she’d looked into him. Neither of them would walk away feeling good. She was an earnest kid; she didn’t mean any harm. 

Across the room, Kravitz bristled. What research was there for Lucretia to do? Taako hadn't shared the details of whatever happened with him, his boyfriend, so her interest would surely not be welcome. All Taako’s loose poise had gone taut, his ears rigid, his limbs stiff as a mannequin. Despite his poker face, the reaction should be unmistakable. Even Angus looked a bit uncomfortable on Taako's behalf.

Taako smiled winningly, or at least that’s what he tried to make his face do. “I think it’s way more interesting to talk about the desserts we have at the booth. Like, next week, I’ve got some amazing ideas for a sort of layered chocolatey cake, love to talk about that.”

"The desserts we’ve served so far have all been hits, and we offer something new every week," Kravitz put in, eager to help Taako derail Lucretia's line of questioning. At the shelves, Angus whispered something to Carey.

"Speaking of, Taako, do you think you could come up with names and descriptions for menu items. Let's say, three weeks out?" Brad asked. "We could tease them in the article." Carey brushed past Taako, stood up on tiptoes to give Killian a quick peck, and ducked behind the counter.

Lucretia nodded. "Yes, we can put a callout box somewhere in the article."

Carey ghosted back. "Psst, Krav. Go start pulling bottles for Kil's pics. I've got Taako."

"You've got Taako what?" Kravitz whispered back, eyeing the bottle clutched in her claws.

"Don't worry about it!" she whispered, shooing him off. He made slow progress into the aisles, keeping an eye on Taako, who returned his gaze with a pinched smile and relaxed minutely.

“Sure, uh, this next week we’re doing chocolate pudding parfaits with Rumchata, next week…I’ve got a blood orange margarita cake recipe that’s just begging to be loved, and a bourbon apple crisp that’ll be good the following week. I think that one’ll be a crowd pleaser,” Taako said.

"That sounds tantalizingly delicious." Lucretia underlined one of the desserts on her pad with a flourish. "Tell me about how you developed those recipes. Were you able to try out baking at ‘Bolive Barden’ or at home, or did you start after entering culinary school?”

Carey sidled up to Lucretia and prodded her in the shoulder. "Heeey Luce! I think it's samples time. This is something we have open behind the counter for _interested_ parties. Are you interested?"

Lucretia blinked at the offered shot glass. "Are you asking me to drink on the job?"

"Absolutely."

"Booyah. Give it here." Kravitz popped his head over the top of the shelves to watch. Generally, what they had open behind the counter were novelty drinks that Brad just had to try...but then no one could finish. He half expected Brad to intervene before Carey potentially poisoned a reporter.

Carey grinned. "The best way to get the full effect is to be surpri— Woah, you're just going for it."

Lucretia knocked the shot glass back. Her throat bobbed. "Delicious," she said, smacking her lips. "What's in that?"

"That was a straight shot of Referent Horseradish Vodka," Carey said. "Usually you'd mix it into a Bloody Mary."

"Uh, Lucretia?" Killian pointed to a tear leaking down Lucretia's cheek. "You're literally crying there. Your face is turning red."

"It was really good," Lucretia said, totally deadpan. "So good that I think I need a drink of water now." The interview was obviously derailed. Kravitz hurried forward with the bottles and took up position at Taako’s side.

"Are you okay, love?" he whispered as Angus escorted Lucretia to the kitchen.

Taako snorted a couple giggles and relaxed. He leaned into Kravitz, clinking bottles and all. “Yeah, I’m okay,” he whispered back.

He was still reeling. That whole uncomfortable topic had come completely out of left field. Taako hadn’t done any sort of mental prep or practice in the mirror to get ready. And Kravitz didn’t even know what it was all about, but he could tell something was wrong, and made sure to be there in support. Taako felt a lot better for it.

Kravitz arranged all the bottles on the glass counter and stepped back, offering a shoulder for Taako to lean on. He was gonna have to tell Kravitz eventually. It was hard to say if it was a good time for that discussion yet, because _never_ would be ideal. He’d talked the thing to death with Lup when it happened, and his closest friends heard the gist—especially how Taako worried he was going to jail—and now it was ancient history.

“I’ll tell you about it sometime, just...not right this minute,” Taako said. He relaxed into Kravitz’s side, as close as professionalism allowed for, and they watched Killian and Carey take pictures. It was all they could do for the moment.

"Oh my gods, babe, Lucretia's a friend," Killian was saying. She rearranged the bottles for better light. "You could've just asked her to give Taako some breathing room."

Carey grinned. "My way was more fun."

Brad left the register to hover near the shelves, thoughtful. Kravitz looked his way and their eyes met. Brad darted a glance at Taako, turned back to Kravitz, and raised one deliberate, questioning eyebrow.

"Um," Kravitz said. "We don't have to talk about _that_ right this minute... But we should probably tell our boss we're— Well. You know."

Taako nearly burst out laughing, in the weirdest way possible. Yeah, okay, that might as well be the conversation they had at this exact moment, gods, how was this the _easier_ one? With Carey and Killian right there, too, oh boy. Well, nothing for it but to go ahead, huh?

“Yeah, we—s’pose we should, huh? You wanna tell him or should I?” Taako said with a chuckle and a grateful smile.

"You're hardly subtle, gentlemen," Brad called. "If you're debating whether you should update me on your relationship status, discretion would advise you to keep your faces further than four inches apart."

Kravitz backed up with a sheepish expression, for decorum's sake, while Taako wheezed laughter. Then he snuck an arm around Taako's shoulders, because if the cat was out of the bag they may as well enjoy this. "Ah, had you already heard...?"

"Magnus told me at judo this morning," Carey said. "He was so happy for you two that he cried a little. And I told Kils." Killian took one hand off her camera to wave.

Taako smiled and burrowed a little closer to Kravitz. They were cute together, sue them! “I knew Mags would cry, we shoulda bet on that, babe.”

“Congratulations,” Brad said. “I admit to not having prepared any kind of written policy on employee relationships, because it was hardly a concern back when there were only three of you.”

“And I’m a huge lesbian, Krav’s super gay, and Angus is a kid?” Carey teased.

“I went out with a couple of girls in highschool,” Kravitz put in.

Ooh, juicy. “And how did that work out?” Taaako prompted, squeezing his side.

Kravitz snickered. “Fine, yes, I’m quite gay.”

Brad gave him a look that clearly read _‘no, really?’_, raised eyebrows and everything. “Please don’t have a nasty breakup before I can crib the employee dating contract from my office and bring it in to discuss appropriate workplace behavior with you both.”

“Wow, that sure is a way to say you hope your friends’ relationship goes well,” Killian said.

Brad shrugged playfully. “I do have to be on the lookout for any interpersonal problems. But you both deserve credit for staying focused during the interview.”

Taako turned to Carey and Killian. “Hell yeah, I think we aced it. Can’t believe you got Lucretia to do that shot, Carey, holy shit.”

“Not gonna lie, I expected her to smell it and then ask, but that right there? Respect, I’m slightly terrified,” Carey said.

Brad shook his head and chuckled. "I appreciate that you restrained yourself. The horseradish vodka was certainly not the worst thing you could've gone with."

Kravitz nudged Taako. "I haven't shown you the cursed drinks cabinet, have I? We'll have to remedy that."

Taako gasped dramatically. “There’s an entire cursed drinks _cabinet_ and you didn’t _tell_ me? This is the worst thing you’ve ever done to me,” he declared.

Killian laughed and glanced towards Carey. “Babe, why didn’t you—“

“I’ll get to her in a sec, one tantrum at a time, please respect my _anguish._ Krav, _why?_ Why this betrayal?” Taako cut in before dissolving into laughter.

Kravitz patted Taako's back affectionately. "I didn't know you'd be interested! Bottles end up there because no one wants them, dear!"

Brad chuckled, a low rumble that shook his whole chest. "Most of the time when someone returns an open bottle, I drink them myself. Or we share. Anything that even Kravitz won't touch is truly unpalatable."

Kravitz looked affronted. "Excuse me, but am I not the closest thing we have to a resident sommelier? I consider my palate fairly refined."

"Yes, but you also drank that Argentinian Malbec that tasted like—excuse my crassness—a goat pissed in jam."

“The acidity was interestingly complex!”

Taako laughed. “That’s _terrible?_ I _love_ it? You’re gonna be fun to date, I can already tell,” he said.

Brad gave the two of them an appraising look. “I trust the two of you will keep it professional on the job, but otherwise, genuinely, these bottles are not going anywhere else. Have at it.”

Taako snickered. “Please, Brad, when have we ever not been absolute model employees?”

“When Brad wasn’t watching" was the most succinct answer to that. But, if Taako hadn't said anything, then Kravitz certainly wouldn’t spill the beans. He was grateful that his shift didn't overlap with Carey's; she absolutely would not have covered for their shouting matches. Now, he couldn't imagine ever shouting at Taako again. It was beyond him. 

"We're back," Angus announced cheerfully. He held the kitchen door open and Lucretia floated past him, every inch of her frame poised. Gravitas exuded from her pores. Her eyes were bloodshot.

She smiled at them and sniffled furiously, with all the dignity of a queen. "So, can someone ring me up for a wholeass bottle of that stuff?"

Carey laughed and stepped behind the counter as Brad went a little ways down one aisle to grab an unopened bottle. “Sure, a good sport like you, I’m happy to,” she said.

Lucretia dug in her bag for her wallet. “That was fucking excellent. Do you wanna bet I can get Magnus to take a slug?”

Brad handed the bottle to Lucretia, an elegant, clear vessel, the austere form of which totally belied the power lurking within. She swiped her card for Carey. "We have plenty of material for the article now. Let's get everyone together for a quick group shot and call it a day."

"You got it, boss," Killian said. “How about you all scoot towards the front window, where the lighting’s better?”

Kravitz made a mental note to get a copy of the last article Lucretia wrote on Far Corners. That photo of their marathon booth was the first time he and Taako had their picture taken together.

They gathered at the window. Taako contentedly positioned himself next to Kravitz. Funny how this was so different from the last time Killian took their picture. Wild what a little communication could do.

Well, one thing was kinda the same. Kravitz’s shoulders were still _really_ nice. Taako just wasn’t pissed about it this time.

“Okay, right there, right there, everybody look— Honey, c’mon, be serious,” Killian said, stifling a laugh at Carey’s antics. “One, two, three—there we go, got it!”

Impulsively, Kravitz reached out and ruffled Angus's hair before returning his hand to Taako's shoulder. Angus stuck his tongue out and smoothed his curls back down.

"Thank you for visiting us, Lucretia," Brad said. He extended a massive, green hand to her. "I'm very excited to see the article."

Lucretia smiled and shook his hand. "Thank you all for coming in on the weekend. I had a much better time covering this than, say, the opening of the Shoot n' Scoot waterpark for the summer. I don't care if they build _ten_ new water slides next year, I'm not doing that again."

"Hey, better you take a swim than my camera," Killian teased.

Lucretia huffed and rolled her eyes. "Anyway, you all take care. I'm going to vanish with my loot and kick back for the rest of Saturday."

"I’m gonna drive Lucretia home. I'll swing by to pick you up when your shift's over, sweetie," Killian said, squeezing Carey in a quick good-bye hug.

Curiously, Brad did not flip the sign on the door back to ‘open’ as Killian's Subaru pulled away. He instead turned to Taako. "Before you go, I'd like to talk to you about something."

Well, the exclamation points were back again. This time a solid half of them were red, so that was new. Taako swallowed. Didn’t Brad work in HR? Was he choosing the most anxiety inducing way to start a conversation _on purpose?_

“Yeah, for sure, uhhhhh, what’s up, need...something...food related, I guess?” Taako asked.

It definitely wasn’t, it had to be about school. Taako wasn’t an idiot, that was just an act he did as needed. He looked around. Carey—busy raiding the deli case and definitely not listening; Angus—here, but he already knew everything, probably, regardless of how little Taako told him outright; Kravitz—about to find out. Well, fuck it then. Brad interrogating him now would save Taako a conversation, and it couldn't be helped.

"I don't mean to alarm you." Brad gave a reassuring smile. "I apologize. I noticed your discomfort during the interview, and I wanted to thank you for handling things so well. You did a fantastic job."

“Oh, haha, yeah, of course,” Taako said. Of course it was fine, of course. “No worries, it’s handled.”

The job he hoped would start his career wasn’t about to blow up in his face. Kravitz was right here—wild how abruptly that had become such a comfort—and Angus was chilling nearby. Probably eavesdropping, but Taako was used to that; it just came with the territory of being friends with the world’s greatest boy detective.

"I know it is," Brad continued. "Taako, I was fully aware of your circumstances when I hired you. I know what this opportunity means and I'm glad to have been able to give it. I have the utmost confidence in your abilities, and the way you’ve run the festival booth has really cemented that."

Taako went wide-eyed. He didn't know what to say. That was, shit, he should chuck all his fears back into the compost heap, right? Lucretia really shook him up, but of course Brad was in his corner. He said exactly what Taako needed to hear.

Taako cleared his throat. "Thanks, Brad. I'm glad we’ve been doing so well. We'll need more staff before we can do much else, but I really did mean what I said about expansion. I know I was iffy about the idea when you first brought me on, but now I think we could actually make it work. We could make something pretty cool, something really unique.”

"Yes…” Brad hummed thoughtfully. “On that note, I've made up my mind. Our next hire will be an assistant for you. I’d like to put you in charge of the hiring, so we can be sure of a candidate that you’ll work well with. Ideally, we'd find someone who could take over most essential operations on Saturday, so I could focus on watching the front.”

"Yes!" Carey punched the air. _"Heck yes!"_

"She's been wanting to drop her Saturday shift," Angus explained to a bemused Kravitz.

Carey put her hands on her hips. "I never told you that, but yup. I'm only here like thirty hours a week, but then I also do twenty at the yoga studio. I would love to have my Saturday afternoons back."

"Does this mean you'd be dropping your taekwondo class as well?" Brad asked.

"Oh, no. I need that. I don't even care what it pays—that's the only time a week I'm allowed to hit someone."

Brad nodded, mock serious. "So, on Saturdays, Carey wants to hit people and then take the rest of the day off. What else do you need to know to draft a description of this new position, Taako?"

Taako twitched his ears and chewed his lip in thought. “Well, really it also depends on the long term. If we’re just looking to expand hours for prepared food that’s one thing, but if we’re looking to add seating space and a bar, we’ll want someone who can do that. Probably more than one someone, eventually.”

"I'm afraid we don't have space for a bar..._yet._ I don't want to get anyone's hopes up, and it wasn't worth mentioning in front of Lucretia, but the boutique next door isn’t renewing their lease.”

“You’re thinking of taking that space over?” Kravitz asked.

"Yes. I’m already talking to the realtor. Besides Lucretia's visit, that was the other reason I wanted you all here. I felt it was a good time to communicate that adding a limited prepared foods selection wasn't the last big change I'm planning in the near future. It's been working out better than I had hoped and bringing a lot of people through the door. We could only benefit from expanding that side of the business. With that in mind, I acknowledge that we direly need more staff. Adding an assistant for Taako will be a great first step."

"Woo boss!" Carey interjected, clapping.

Brad smiled. "Yes, so—Taako, it's most crucial to get someone who can prepare food and work the register. But, if you find a qualified applicant who _also_ has bar experience, then that would be ideal."

Taako nodded. “Yeah, yeah— Hell yeah, I’ll make it happen.”

“Get someone chill! I don’t wanna work with anyone uptight,” Carey put in.

"Yes, I'm more than uptight enough for the entire staff," Brad said with a smirk. Carey rolled her eyes and he veered back on topic. “You could use the listing for your position as a template. I can't wait to see what you come up with. Do you think you can email it to me by, say, Wednesday? That would allow me enough time to look it over and make suggestions."

“Can do, boss man. Got my old copy and everything,” Taako said. He shifted toward the door, casting a hopeful glance towards Kravitz. “I probably should get out of your hair, though. Need me for anything else?”

“I think that’s everything. Thanks for making time, gentlemen, and enjoy the rest of your weekend,” Brad replied.

Kravitz grabbed his things and quickly ran out after Taako. Carey audibly snorted behind him. He waved a quick goodbye over his shoulder and she gave him a thumbs up.

Taako was lurking just outside, a few steps away from the window. His ears perked up as Kravitz beelined towards him. "Taako, do you have a moment?" Kravitz asked. "I was wondering if—"

The bell above the door jingled. Angus joined them on the sunbaked sidewalk, practically skipping. "Hello sirs! While we were in the kitchen, Lucretia asked me to review the new Caleb Cleveland book for her paper's website! I'm so excited, those are my favorites."

Taako gave a sort of exasperated half-smile. "That's great, Ango, I'm sure you'll review the heck out of it.”

"Have you read the newest one yet, sir?" Angus continued.

Taako shook his head. "Maybe once we get someone hired I can sit down with it, yeah?"

"I can't wait! It's _so good._ There are finally developments with the Unseeing Eye, and something big happens with Detective Dakota. I don't want to spoil you, but the way those plot threads are pursued is extremely satisfying."

Kravitz glanced at Angus's car. Then back at Angus. Then the car again, which he continued to not be in. "Angus?"

Angus turned a guileless expression on him. Kravitz figured fifty-fifty odds on whether he was fucking around on purpose. "Yes, sir? Have _you_ read the Caleb Cleveland books?"

Kravitz wet his lips. "No. But, right now, I would dearly like to speak with my boyfriend in private."

Angus tilted his head. "You make it sound so serious! But it's Saturday, you have your violin, and it doesn't look like you're headed to campus... Are you asking him on a daaaaaate?"

Okay, one-hundred percent odds that Angus was fucking with him. "I would love to," Kravitz huffed and crossed his arms. He wouldn't necessarily use the word _date,_ for what he had in mind... But it did involve spending time with Taako, who he hoped would be amenable. "If you would allow me the chance?"

“Okay sirs, I’ll be on my way before I see something I shouldn’t. After all I am a child,” Angus replied cheekily. He headed for his car, still laughing a little. He hopped in, then cranked down the window and called out “Make good choices, sirs!” before rattling off down the street.

“That little shit,” Taako groaned, dropping the arm he was waving with. “Who taught him to act like that?”

Kravitz raised one damning eyebrow. Taako closed his eyes and tossed his head. He grabbed Kravitz’s hand and Kravitz squeezed back nervously, aware that Carey could see them through the window. "Um, I had... I had this whole bit prepared, where I would approach you to say that I'd normally be on my way to campus for practice," he plucked the strap of his violin case, "but I remembered playing on your apartment's roof, and would that be alright— You wouldn't have to stay with me—"

“But maybe I _couuuuuld_ stay, huh?” Taako said, swinging their hands a little. He had a boyfriend! To hold hands with! He had a boyfriend and a great job and the rest of the afternoon to enjoy. “Do musicians have muses? I’d make a kickass muse, you know I would.”

"You _are_ a kickass muse. Did I tell you I aced a midterm this week?"

“Aced it? Holy shit, babe, I’m so proud of you!” Taako said, tugging Kravitz’s hand and leading him off in the direction of home.

Kravitz loved this. Taako was so cute. "If you needed more persuading, I was going to offer to serenade you while you worked on that job listing. I helped Brad draft the one for your position, you know." And he wasn't even the slightest bit annoyed, being cut out of decision-making for this new one. He trusted Taako to handle things perfectly.

“I could steal Mags’s wifi—well, ‘s not really stealing if he gave me the password, I guess. It’ll reach up there though. And it’ll be nice to be serenaded, that’s so romantic.” Taako sped up. His pulse buzzed in his fingertips. He felt hot all over, except for the hand in Kravitz’s chilly grip. “I think I’m gonna have to keep you. You’ll have to stay pretty late to make sure we get some quality time together, since we’re gonna spend the first couple hours working, huh? And we can't forget about dinner, food is _crucial_." 

"I'm quite happy to be kept for as long as you'll have me," Kravitz said, answering Taako’s suggestive smirk. His enthusiasm was infectious. Kravitz’s plotting hadn't extended past a nice evening together—but if Taako wanted to get carried away, he was fully onboard.

Maybe he should stop by his apartment for a change of clothes first. Maybe he didn't care. He let Taako tug him onward, butterflies fluttering in his ribcage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when Kravitz was tying himself in knots over whether Taako could ever like him back? Yeah. _Communication_.


	30. One Step Closer/for the first time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a classic date night: dinner and a movie!

Time passed quickly on the roof. Taako pulled together a draft of the job posting and fired it off to Brad, all while listening to Kravitz practice. He kicked back on the lounge chair. The occasional breeze kept the sun from roasting them alive, tickling Taako’s ears and making Kravitz’s flyaways halo out. It was nice.

Taako liked just being able to hang out and watch. There was no pressure to do or say anything. He could breathe easy, in and out, soaking in the music and the fresh evening air. This was meditative. Fishing and surfing were his usual favorite chill activities—cooking wasn’t so much anymore, now that it was his job—but he couldn’t do those within five minutes travel from his room, so this was better.

The thing no one ever seemed to talk about with music practice was that a whole lot of it wasn’t even a song. Kravitz played scales and snippets and starts and restarts, and all of that was what would eventually make the music happen. It was way different than listening to someone perform.

And now Kravitz was finished. He lowered his bow, eyes fixed at a point off on the horizon, a random building glowing dimly against the sunset. And Taako was finished listening. Neither of them had to be here anymore, they could go about their business for the rest of the evening.

Oh, fuck that idea. Taako wanted Kravitz to stay. He swung his legs off the lounge chair and sat up. “So, uh, practice go good? Coming together? It sounded nice to me, but, y’know, I don’t know,” Taako said. Gods, why was he nervous? He wasn’t, really, he was mostly excited to have Kravitz in his space.

Seemingly oblivious to Taako’s nerves, Kravitz nodded shallowly. "If it sounded nice to you, then I'm quite content," he replied, a smile playing on his lips.

After Taako first rejected him, he spent a day or so playing Johann's greatest hits. The achingly depressive sort of melodies that cracked your heart like a melon. Since their not-date last Saturday, though, everything from his hands came out ebullient. He was toying with a few compositions that he'd put down months ago.

Practicing one of those kept him entertained all evening. He had interspersed measures from that song with scales and the regular exercises he did to keep his hands limber, but those were so trivially easy in this mood that they hardly took time. At this rate, he would have several songs to dedicate to Taako in short order. Or was that too much, for new boyfriends?

Kravitz stooped to put his violin away. In an unspoken agreement, Taako closed his laptop. It wasn’t new-new, or the fanciest, but it was and had been decent and still worked well. Merle had bought it without duly consulting the twins, heavily relying on the advice of the fellow at the Fantasy Apple store a few years back, only to bring it downstairs four months later when it ‘broke’ and declare that Taako and Lup were welcome to it. A new charging cord and a thorough hard reset (without so much as a glance at the botanical horrors surely lurking in the browser history), and here it was.

The bow secured, Kravitz closed the violin case with a snap. Taako stood up from the chair. He had to do something fast to make sure Kravitz knew he wanted him to stay. That was how Lup would do it with Barry, right? She said they just asked, and trusted that they both wanted each other to be happy. That sounded awful straightforward and kinda bold, but it was Lup, so that tracked.

“Do you have anything else you gotta do? I’m just gonna go downstairs to mine. Lup’s at work, y’know, like normally I’d text you but you _are_ right _here,”_ Taako said.

"Um, I don't have further plans," Kravitz said. Standing on the rooftop with his case in hand, he felt like the gentlemen at train stations in old movies who leapt off carriages at the last moment, propelled by a change of heart. "I was trying to brainstorm... Angus used the word _date,_ so that's what I promised you— We could get dinner? Or do some other activity designed to foster pleasant conversation? I just want to make it very clear that my highest priority— Well, it's to spend time with you. I mean. If you're sure you're not busy. I'm sorry, I'm babbling, aren't I."

Taako bit his lip. His ears were canted up and forward, open and relaxed. Because, okay, _wow?_ Kravitz was so nervous it was adorable. They were being ridiculous, weren’t they.

He grinned lazily. “Well, what I was gonna do is go back downstairs and make some dinner. Then I was gonna eat it, and talk to you, and see how your day was and get nice and relaxed. Maybe watch a movie or something, y’know, chill stuff.” He could worry about some of the things loosely grouped under ‘chill stuff’ as they happened. Namely, whether their team could get a runner further than first base tonight. “But what if—hear me out—we _both_ did that stuff? In the same room, instead of texting?” The eyebrow he raised at Kravitz clearly communicated how _he_ felt about that idea. Brilliancy, natch.

Kravitz's whole face lit up. There were multitudinous benefits to doing a date night in Taako’s apartment. Starting with saving money and moving swiftly towards the thoughts inspired by reviewing particular saved messages from his and Taako's lewd, anonymous fantasies. He wouldn’t use a baseball metaphor, but they were otherwise on the same page. "Dinner and a movie? That sounds absolutely wonderful. I would love to."

“Yeah, it was that or this wine and pottery place I’ve been scoping out, but why bother when we have a wholeass apartment to ourselves? Let’s go dig around in my fridge and see what’s in there,” Taako said.

His sheets were reasonably clean too. Points for that, it was almost like he’d planned ahead. He tucked the laptop away and slung the bag over his shoulder. Kravitz followed him back down the fire escape and through Magnus's window, with an utterly besotted look on his face that made Taako’s eartips go red.

Julia, lounging on the rug with her dog, laughed to see them. "Did you guys have a good time up there?" she asked playfully.

"A _really_ good time?" Magnus called. He bounced out of the bedroom with a grin. "Like, _really_ good?"

Taako snorted. “Why, did you guys have a _really_ good time down here? Is this what we’re doing now, is this the question of the day?” He waved a hand dismissively. “We gotta go get some dinner started, getting a little hungry. Thanks for letting us through or whatever.”

Magnus went to close the window behind them. “You got it, buddy. Have a good dinner, or _whatever.”_ He gave Taako a significant look.

"Does he _really_ think we screwed on the roof?" Kravitz whispered, as soon as they were a safe distance down the hallway with Magnus's door shut behind them. "It's all gravel up there! Gravel and the AC units, how would that even work? That lounge chair could not support the both of us."

Taako snickered. “Love finds a way, I guess. Doesn’t sound comfortable though.” They took the stairs two at a time, with Taako hoping Kravitz didn’t know how eager a pace that was for him. “This is me,” he said, fishing his keys from his pocket.

Kravitz vibrated in place while Taako unlocked the door. It was mundane, finally visiting the twins’ apartment, but he couldn't help feel a thrill. So many times he'd tried to picture himself in this space, and now he was finally here.

A living space said a lot about its occupant. Rather unfortunately, considering the squalor of his own domicile. Taako led the way in, momentarily forgetting to bother with the overhead lights. Darkvision meant he didn’t need them. He aboutfaced a step over the threshold and flicked them on, allowing Kravitz to survey the room.

The open floorplan was the same as the Burnsides’s. The kitchen was much better appointed, the furniture tended less towards woodwork, though some of the pieces were nearly identical—perhaps made by Magnus? The most noticeable thing, however— "Why are there so many pillows on the floor?"

"That's the pillow pit,” Taako answered breezily. “You have a fight, you tell the other person 'meet me in the fucking pillow pit!' and then you duel with pillows and the only rule is that you have to try to settle it between hits. Works for Lup and me every time.”

He suppressed a laugh. From the lemony scent permeating the room, Lup must’ve finally cleaned the pillows after her and Barry's couch shenanigans, leaving them on the floor to finish drying. _But_ the pillow pit was also a tried-and-true aspect of Twin Culture™️, so probably best Kravitz knew what to expect.

Not that he was well-equipped to wrap his head around the Sibling Experience, even after Taako's helpful introduction. The closest Kravitz had come to living with another child his age were a few nights at sleepaway camp for Young Fledglings. And that took place under the relentless supervision of dedicated counselors, because the Raven Queen’s order was only chill with death insofar as it occurred naturally, instead of being brought on by accidentally enabling a Lord of the Flies redux.

"Oh, are the pillows _only_ for dueling?" Kravitz asked, feigning disappointment. "That's a shame, they look very comfortable. Also, this whole set-up seems perilously close to your TV."

“Just gotta watch the ol’ aim,” Taako said with a wink. “But you _know_ I can absolutely think of more ways to use all those pillows, babe, for _sure.”_ Gods, could he ever, and it sounded like Kravitz was on the same page. Excellent. Taako’s bed was right in the next room, but there was no need to think inside the box on this one.

Although, just. Maybe the first time, at least, in Taako’s bed? Setting aside the hypocrisy of following Lup’s example after getting on her case, he and Kravitz had talked a big nasty game over text, but interspersed with equally as much goopy, romantic stuff. Nothing about their relationship was remotely ‘old-fashioned’, but now that the ball was finally rolling...well, this night could be kinda classic—dinner, a movie, sex. Plus, the bed would be comfortable.

Taako took Kravitz’s hand again and tugged him across the tiny patch of tile that passed for a foyer. Kravitz went along easily, pausing only to kick his shoes off. What a gentleman. “Wanna help me pick something out to cook?” Taako asked.

“Is it just the two of us, or do we need to plan on feeding Lup?"

“Just us, she’s working ‘til late. Those weekend bar shifts are brutal.” Taako shrugged. “But do what you’ve gotta, right? She sometimes heads over to Barry’s after, but I dunno about tonight. Usually she shoots me a text.”

Kravitz answered him with a considering hum and slowly looked around the kitchen. It didn’t feel like an evaluation. He wasn’t so much observing as taking it all in. Good: let him get comfortable. Taako wanted him comfortable.

Taako rummaged in the fridge. “You said you like fajitas before, right?” He held up a red bell pepper over his shoulder. “We maybe could make that happen. I can whip together homemade tortillas, they’re the bomb.”

Kravitz chuckled. "Well, how much time do we want to spend cooking? Would it surprise you to learn that I have an ulterior motive for confirming that Lup won't be around this evening?"

Taako gasped dramatically. “An ulterior motive! I’m shocked!” he cried, breaking into a fit of laughter. “We can do something quick, though. I’ve gooooot some chicken, a thingy of ground beef in here…got some veggies, pasta, and rice in the cupboard. Whatcha feelin’, babe?”

"Mmm, you." Kravitz leaned forward to offer Taako a quick peck on the cheek.

Taako giggled and leaned into it. “Awww, you sap!” He was eating this up. He could definitely get used to this kind of affection. He turned, wrapped his arms around Kravitz’s neck and kissed him properly. “I _did_ say I’d make sure you ate good food now though, so how about we boil some pasta and throw a little chicken and veg in there. It’ll be done like _that,_ and then we’ll pick a movie that we aren’t totally invested in,” he coaxed.

"I'm perfectly alright with whatever you feel like making." Kravitz initiated another kiss. This evening was almost everything he'd been wanting. He could be content with just this, and Taako was offering him _more._ He would forever be grateful that coming clean turned things around. "And, honestly, if you just wanted to microwave freezer meals, I'd be fine with that. I'm not asking you to work on date night."

Taako snorted. “Oh! Oops! Oh no! Don’t have any freezer meals! Fresh out! All I got’s ingredients. We’ll have to make due without the load of extra salt.”

“Such a shame. I’m also a fan of having blocks of ice in the center of my entrees, just real cold boys you can chip a tooth on. Do you think you could replicate that experience?” Kravitz joked.

“Hmmm, nope,” Taako said. “Sorry, baby, but the chicken’s already in small pieces. I’m a simple elven wizard-chef, I couldn’t cook those unevenly if I tried. If it makes you feel better, I can get you a ziploc ‘n throw a few in the freezer. Raw chicken ice cubes.”

“Sounds like a summer treat for ravens. I appreciate it, but I’ll give them a pass,” Kravitz said with a smile. “What can I do to help you?”

Taako dropped his arms with another little peck on Kravitz’s cheek and stepped away to rummage in the freezer, coming up with a bag of mixed vegetables. “Can you get in that cupboard down there? We’ll need a skillet and a biggish pot for the pasta.”

Kravitz began rifling. The twins owned so much cooking stuff, it was a marvel to see. They probably never had to improvise implements from plastic forks. "What's the difference between a skillet and a frying pan?"

Taako chuckled, not mean, just amused. “Semantics,” he said, drying clean hands on a towel, “and sometimes materials and depth. That one there’s good. And that pot—yeah.” He set the package of chicken down and pulled the pasta from the cupboard. “Wash, please,” he ordered, gesturing dramatically to the sink.

"Wash—the pasta?" Kravitz stood there with the skillet and pot, utterly confused.

“Wash your hands, babe,” Taako said with a playful smile, scooting around to Kravitz’s other side and hip-bumping him lightly in the direction of the sink.

"Oh! Right." Kravitz hastily put down the skillet and pan. "You're going to walk out of this thinking I'm even more helpless in the kitchen, aren't you."

“I mean maybe, but I know something that’ll probably help,” Taako sing-songed.

Kravitz turned off the sink and faced him, a mischievous glint in his eye. "And what's that, dear?"

Taako stepped closer and took Kravitz’s freshly washed hands in his. “Look at these bad boys.” Kravitz’s fingers were broad for being dexterous on violin strings. He had great nails, smooth and even where Taako’s were furrowed and chipped, and thick dark knuckles. His hands were so nice to hold, even if they felt like the chill touch of death whenever he hadn’t scrubbed them in hot water immediately beforehand. “I just heard all that music, so I know you can follow directions and move your fingers real good. So I figure maybe that means you just need directions and a chance to practice, huh?”

Kravitz heard 'move your fingers real good' and his brain shut off. Very few of his higher functions worked at all, with Taako holding his hands like that. How unfair. He needed to level the playing field. "You're right, I'm good with my fingers, and I appreciate strong direction. Now all that's left is the practice, hm?" he all but purred.

Taako’s ears jumped straight up. _Charmer! Horny boy!_ “See? Now that we can do,” he said, leaning to kiss Kravitz’s cheek. “First, though, I’m gonna need a pot full of water put on to boil, ‘kay?”

Reluctantly, Kravitz let Taako have his hands back. "And how much time do we have while we wait for the water to boil?"

Taako grinned. “We’ve got a little while, for sure, wonder what we could do to keep busy?”

"I'm sure we can hit upon an appropriate conversational topic. We have plenty of interests in common," Kravitz teased. He dearly hoped he wasn't misreading the lilt in Taako's voice, or the tilt of his ears. It was so much harder to tell what he wanted without the helpful guide of censored emojis.

“We _do,”_ Taako replied. He finished adjusting the burner and turned back to Kravitz. “Scrabble it is then.” He laughed at the look on Kravitz’s face and pulled him in for a kiss.

Kravitz returned the kiss greedily. When they broke apart, he smirked and said, "I'm tempted to call your bluff, but I'm afraid that you might actually own Scrabble. I want to be very clear that I have, mmmm…_other_ things in mind. Prurient ones."

Taako snickered. “You know I had to google what ‘prurient’ meant the first time you used it on me? You got me so good I learned a whole word,” he teased. He played with the fabric of Kravitz’s shirt, then hauled his face in for another kiss. “This anything like what you have in mind, handsome?”

"I have a few more for you," Kravitz replied, in between pressing kisses to Taako's lips. "Salacious. Licentious. Lascivious. Also, lecherous, but that one's got bad connotations. It takes a hefty thesaurus to sound smooth."

“Hmmm, ‘lascivious’ is my favorite of those,” Taako decided. “I’m kinda surprised you felt like you needed to break out the synonym spice for someone who communicates with like 75% eggplant emojis, but you’re _very_ hot, so it works for me.” He snaked his arms back up around Kravitz’s neck.

"Those were _eggplants?"_ Kravitz burst out laughing against Taako’s chest. "This whole time? Why on earth were they eggplants? Is that a chef thing? Taako, my phone doesn't display ninety percent of the emojis you send! They're all just boxes!"

“Oh my gods? Oh my _gods?_ Babe, they look like _dicks!”_ Taako cackled. “They didn’t show—gods, that explains _so much!”_ He caught his breath slightly. “There’s like, a whole thing? With emojis? Like eggplants for dicks and peaches for asses, all kinds of stuff, you can get real creative. I just figured you liked your sexting the old fashioned way, or it was some kinda goof!”

"I _never_ got that. My phone does, it does a frowny face and a smiling face and, and a barfing face, for some reason— You have me trained— I have a Pavlovian response to seeing a row of empty boxes now, I swear to god." Kravitz was laughing so hard that he would double over if not for Taako's support. "It was always, oh, here's a bunch of squares! Excellent, he must want a little something-something!"

Taako clung back, absolutely howling with laughter. “Okay, but to be fair? You were right, I deffo did! Every time!” he cried. “Oh my gods, _pictures!_ No wonder you didn’t wanna send ‘em, it all makes sense! I saw your phone that time, holy shit, I’m surprised it runs Grindr, babe!”

"It doesn't," Kravitz wheezed. "Not the most recent version, I mean. I downloaded a bootleg of an old version from some shady website that probably gave me a virus. Last fall, I was so incredibly bored in the hospital, I spent the whole day on it—and I still couldn't get the map to work! I'm relieved that we don't need it to talk anymore, because frankly, I've been afraid that whatever I'm running will inevitably get patched to obsolescence for months. And, this whole time, it’s _killed me_ to not ask for pictures of you. But I couldn't reciprocate! My camera lens has been cracked for years.”

"Gods, holy shit, your phone deserves a medal for chugging along this long, and then a burial at sea,” Taako chuckled. "I’m gonna start taking pictures of us, STAT. Gotta make up for lost time. I will teach you the way of the selfie.” He shook his head. "Imagine if we'd known what each other looked like right off."

Kravitz sobered a little. His sides ached from heaving and he felt light-headed. He couldn't remember ever having laughed that hard. "If I had recognized you from the start, I promise I wouldn't have been such an ass. Maybe it's shallow of me, but you would've merited preferential treatment." In all likelihood, he would’ve had an anxiety attack in front of Brad at Taako’s introduction and confessed on the spot.

“That sounds like a blast. I want the full VIP treatment,” Taako teased. “I probably woulda paid more attention to you, ‘stead of just ignoring you right off. That didn’t work _at all,_ clearly.” How funny that he had immediately noticed Kravitz was hot and dismissed the thought in favor of...Kravitz, but online!

Kravitz hung his head, pressing his cheek into Taako’s neck. “I was content to be ignored. It didn't even register with me that you were attractive, at the time. At least, I don't think it did. Why would I pay attention when I was smitten with 'someone else'? But now that I know you're _you,_ well, you're gorgeous."

Taako snorted. “Babe, you _hate_ being ignored, like clearly. It only takes about twelve seconds and you’re all like _‘Taako,’”_ he mocked, making an exaggerated sour face, _“‘I’ve eaten a whole lemon, this is somehow your fault.’”_ He dissolved into snickers, then his ears snapped up at the sound of steam from a clattering pot lid. “Hold on, water’s boiling, lemee free for a minute.”

Kravitz was loath to part—his front felt cold now, without Taako pressed hip-to-collar against him—but giggling too hard to stop him. "I'm not sure that impression is entirely fair. Has it occurred to you that any consternation on my part may have simply been in response to some external factor? Like, say, our adding a café to a store and running both with exactly _two_ people. I think a little grouchiness was merited, though I apologize if I was taking it out on you. It's not your fault."

Taako craned his neck to shoot Kravitz a smile over his shoulder from the stove. Awww. Looked like it was time to try talking like grownups. “You know I’m just messing with you, right? You were under a bunch of stress, and really, if we think about it, this was _Brad’s_ fault. He was super oblivious and kept dumping extra stuff on us, and I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off, snapping at the drop of a hat. Anyone would be salty.”

He dumped the pasta into the pot and the chicken into the skillet, then reached up to the cabinet for seasonings. Kravitz wandered over to hover. Partly so he could figure out a way to be useful, but mostly so he could stay within arm's reach of Taako. He wanted to offer a hug as reassurance that he wasn't mad about the snapping, so it was unfortunate that Taako seemed too busy doing something with little spice jars for that.

"Two points in Brad's defense,” Kravitz said. “One, we didn't want him to know we were having a spat, so he only saw us on our best behavior. And two, do you know how many hours that man works? In his reality, you bounce out of bed at dawn and are productive _all day._ I'm not sure he can recognize stress anymore. I think the last time he took a day off was new year’s."

Taako chuckled. “Yeah, that tracks. He probably just figured it was all going fine because we’re such professionals.” He scooped the chicken aside and added vegetables to the oil sizzling in the skillet. “Think you can dig the strainer out of that cupboard and drain this pasta for me, babe? There’s a big bowl in there, too.”

"On it," Kravitz said, finding both implements without much difficulty. "I have to say, that smells amazing. You were right to take the time for proper food."

“You gotta take the time for real meals, it’s so worth it,” Taako agreed. He dumped the chicken back in and gave the veggie mixture a stir, then gestured towards Kravitz with the spatula. “Plus, you need it. Only good meals when you’re with me, babe.” He grinned.

Kravitz turned from draining the pasta to grin back. This was everything he wanted. A comfortable time with someone he was more and more willing to admit he loved. Good company, good food, and all his anxieties far away. Could every night really be as wonderful, stretching far into the future? It seemed priceless to experience this once.

Gods, he had so little to offer Taako in return. If Kravitz had hosted, they'd be eating freezer meals on folding chairs. He couldn’t reciprocate any of the things Taako had done for him this evening.

It made him wonder why Taako bothered. Kravitz had already proved himself wholly inadequate to the task of being a good boyfriend. How long would Taako's patience last?

The joy from their shared laughter faded. Beneath his skin, Kravitz felt his spirit crumpling inwards. He directed a weak smile at Taako. "Every meal you've made for me has been amazing. I can't thank you enough. Let me wash the dishes, after?"

“That you can do, handsome. Kiss the cook?” Taako asked. Kravitz obediently complied with a peck on the cheek, and trailed after with the pasta as Taako hauled the skillet to the table.

Dinner was delicious, and being comfortably full after a meal was divine. Actual vegetables? A reasonable amount of salt? Kravitz drank only one glass of water and felt healthy. Remarkable. Moreover, as he scrubbed at the sink, he felt energized. He was a live wire, buzzing with excitement for what may come next.

"I'm already almost done here," Kravitz called, once he finished arranging the pot and skillet on a drying rack. The rest could be stuffed away, because Taako had a _dishwasher._ What luxury. "Did you pick a movie, or...?"

Taako looked up from clicking through Netflix. What was a good movie to definitely abandon partway through? “Coupla strong contenders, you feeling action or spooky or we got—“ he squinted at the screen “—some sorta feel-good thing that looks like a Hallmark guy wrote it by spinning a wheel. Whatcha think?”

Kravitz dried his hands and turned to lean on the counter. "I do enjoy a spooky thriller. My criteria for this decision, though, are whatever increases the odds of you ending up in my arms. If that's alright?"

Taako chuckled. He wasn’t sure how odds could increase from complete certainty, but— “Thriller it is, spooky boy, you gonna protect me from all the scary parts?”

"Which one of us is the magical genius who averted a child's certain doom last week?" Kravitz approached cautiously, hoping none of his nervousness showed. "I'm just saying, if we were attacked by a legion of angry ghosts or a massive, ravenous monster, or anything along those lines, I suspect you'd end up being the one to save me."

“Mmm, true. You can probably handle holding me during a movie though, don’t sell yourself short.” Taako patted the couch next to him.

Kravitz sat down delicately. Why was hugging in the kitchen less intimidating than cuddling on the couch? Perhaps because this was an actual couple's activity, and he had little experience with those. Most of his former boyfriends proved themselves assholes before cuddling ever came up. Taako may sometimes be an asshole, but he was an asshole Kravitz was smitten with, and he badly wanted them to work out.

"I certainly can handle this," Kravitz said, like a liar. He extended his arms with his heart thundering. For someone who always lost at cards, his poker face was really good.

Taako flopped over into Kravitz’s arms and promptly went boneless. This had been put off so many times that he wasn’t sure it would ever happen, but it felt surprisingly natural. _His_ boyfriend now! Hell yes!

He raised the remote. “So you know? The hair’s fair game, looooove havin’ that touched,” he said with a little smirk.

Fingers immediately stroked through his hair. "I love a fair game," Kravitz said. "You're gorgeous, you know that?" After a moment's hesitation, he encircled Taako with his other arm.

“Thanks, takes one to know one, huh?” Taako teased. He leaned up to press a little kiss to Kravitz’s jaw.

There was no way they were gonna get through this whole movie, not with Kravitz’s fingers in Taako’s hair and his really very extremely sexy arms around Taako’s chest, definitely, for sure, guaranteed. Taako cracked a satisfied grin and hit play. Excellent.

The movie was utterly forgettable. Kravitz decided that all of five minutes in, because watching the way Taako's hair shone between his fingers held his attention far better. The couch smelled a little like disinfectant, but Taako's cologne was lovely, like citrus and the sea breeze. Kravitz kept petting Taako as he sunk into the cushions, not even bothering to angle his face towards the screen, and wriggled to get comfortable. He hadn't taken his hair out of a bun, and it was bulky beneath his head.

Taako was beginning to realize that, in another life? He may have been a cat. Curling up on the couch and ignoring a movie while Kravitz devotedly played with his hair made him more content than he could possibly say. He burrowed happily into Kravitz and let his hand fall to rest on his thigh, running it teasingly up and down.

Boldly, Kravitz snuck a hand under Taako's shirt and stroked his back. He caught Taako's gaze and realized neither of them were paying any attention to the TV. "Why did we bother with the pretense of putting a movie on?" he murmured.

“No idea,” Taako chuckled. “It just seemed like a good way to get close to you, I guess. Probably coulda just said that.” He paused. “You wanna move this to my bedroom?

_"Yes,"_ Kravitz blurted. "Not to be overeager."

Taako picked up the remote and stopped the movie. “Good gods, I was hoping. C’mon, handsome,” he demanded, hopping to his feet and grabbing one of Kravitz’s hands to pull him up playfully.

"I've been quietly hoping too." Kravitz grinned and rose to join Taako. "Have we _still_ not learned our lesson about communication?"

“I guess we’ll have to work on it,” Taako said over his shoulder. He pulled Kravitz through the door and into his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally some good fucking food (communication).
> 
> *
> 
> This chapter is early because certain current events will keep me busy all day tomorrow. Black lives matter. Wear your damn mask. Stay safe out there.


	31. Chemistry From Your Company/show me your love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako and Kravitz steer date night into hot and heavy territory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey remember how this fic has an E rating? After 30 chapters of these gentlemen fumbling around, I almost didn't. If you're not here for anything horny you can treat last chapter as a fade to black and we'll see you next week for a pancake breakfast.

Taako’s room wasn’t a disaster by any means, but it certainly wasn’t the tidiest in the apartment. The striped purple shag rug was strewn with discard clothes. A dresser sat along one wall, scratched top littered with hair ties and makeup and various knickknacks, with a mirror set in the center and a worn CD binder propped in the back corner. The nightstand was cluttered with a clunky, obsolete CD player/alarm clock combo, a draping phone charger cord, and a handful of books, some cookbooks, some not.

Some of the decor in the room had a serious early-aughts feel. A few posters for various pop-punk bands decorated the walls, the newest dating back about a decade. The closet door stood open, exposing a colorful collection of clothes hanging chaotically inside, with various scarves and accessories threatening to fall from the top shelf. A window covered in a curtain was on the far wall, and jammed into the corner was a full-size bed. There were some hefty books stacked underneath, just visible behind the corner of a rumpled blanket draping off the side of the mattress.

Taako shut the door behind them. “Get comfy, babe,” he said, arching an eyebrow flirtatiously. Of course, Kravitz was already beelining to the band posters. What a nerd.

"Fall Out Boy _and_ Panic! At the Disco?" Kravitz said, delighted. "And Marianas Trench? I really hope none of our evening plans are compromised by this observation, but, love, I think you might be a nerd."

Taako laughed. “And you’re not? When I got all kinds of texts from you like ‘I’m reviewing the Saint-Saëns, my love’,” he said, pronouncing the unfamiliar name like _Saint Sayans._ “Just sayin’, it takes one to know one.”

Kravitz turned from the posters and ambled back over with a grin. He was delighted to learn that Taako paid enough attention to his studies to remember a name mentioned once, weeks ago. "I confess to nothing. And it's pronounced _Sahn-Sohnce."_

“It’s what? Babe, you gotta be shitting me,” Taako chuckled. He reached out to grasp Kravitz by the hips and pull him closer. _“Sahn-Sohnce._ Ridiculous.” He brushed his fingers over Kravitz’s cheek. “Where were we?”

"Doing a Looney Tunes bit?" Kravitz joked. Repartee was a challenge when all his blood was traveling south from his brain. "You were submitting yourself to the mortifying ordeal by letting me peruse your room. I have my eye on your music collection, but you're the host. You could instead choose to show me your bed next."

“You’re always so full of good ideas,” Taako answered. He held onto Kravitz’s hips a bit tighter while he kicked his shoes off and was gratified when Kravitz swayed with his motions, pushing into his hands. “Come on, babe, I want you in my bed.”

Instead of fumbling a reply, Kravitz drew Taako into a kiss. This was so easy, and so, so nice. Kravitz was almost glowing with happiness. His earlier anxieties about how they would fare long-term hadn't vanished, but even his least helpful inner voices couldn't pretend that Taako didn't want him right now. Not when Taako was sliding fingers under the hem of his shirt.

Taako was unmistakably eager. He didn’t want to go too fast, he was enjoying this, but he was ready for more. He kissed Kravitz deeper, a little hungrier, pulling him close by the small of his back. He broke the kiss to press their foreheads together and murmur, “Wanna see you.”

"Mmm, I'm right here," Kravitz said, his breath ghosting across Taako’s cheek. "But, if you're asking permission to take my shirt off, go ahead."

Taako began to untuck Kravitz’s polo shirt. “Perfect, handsome man,” he purred. He giggled a little when he pulled the polo over Kravitz’s head to find an undershirt underneath. “Gonna make me work for it, huh, sexy?”

Kravitz huffed a self-conscious little laugh. "I mean, I could help." Taako's touch sent nervous thrills across his skin. He felt almost ticklish, or at least like he might giggle too. "Look, we had to have our pictures taken at work for a paper this morning. I would have liked to dress up more than this. But, well, it seemed egregious for retail."

“I kinda like it. It suits you—oh my gods, one of these times I gotta peel you out of a _suit,_ that’s _delicious,”_ Taako hummed, running his hands up Kravitz’s arms. Gods they were nice, toned but not overly ripped, showing all those hours of violin practice.

Kravitz pressed a kiss to Taako's forehead. "I own a suit. We can make this happen. I'd like to think I look very handsome in it." 

“I can’t wait,” Taako said. “Lemme just see about this here.” He tugged at Kravitz’s undershirt, pulling the textured fabric out of his waistband. “Just so you know, the tucked-in shirt says ‘nerd’ in big bold letters. You’re always overdressed, m’dude, how do you survive? How are you this _cold?_”

No one who touched Kravitz less than Taako did would notice—so, no one had ever noticed before. Kravitz was cooler than felt normal, though hardly marked by a chill touch. Just a few, deniable degrees off from room temperature. He’d never paid much mind to it. The hands of the Raven Queen adherents who raised him did not feel warm in his. Not like Taako’s did. "I just run cold. And I like to look professional. How about I go ahead and get the belt for you," Kravitz offered. "I don't mean to be so much work, and I'm impatient to return the favor."

“You’re worth it, but I want you, so go on ahead,” Taako said with a chuckle. Kravitz’s hands joined his.

As Taako felt for the zipper of his fly, Kravitz shed his shirt, then went for Taako's. "I don't want to pull on your hair," Kravitz murmured, carefully tugging the collar up over Taako's head. Kravitz hadn't realized how long his hair was until he wore it loose today, bleached curls tumbling over his shoulders and down his back. He usually piled it up and secured it with a zillion bobby pins, sometimes a hairnet, so nobody’s food was garnished with elf hair.

“Mmmmmokay put a pin in hair pulling, we can circle back to that,” Taako teased. “You’re so gentle, babe.” Most of his hookups had either been less patient than this or clumsy enough that it felt that way. Kravitz was _deliberate_ with his motions, was the thing. The rare times he goofed up were glorious, because usually he moved like an expert marionette—all smooth, unnatural grace coupled with the occasional reflexive jerk.

Unnatural grace with some primo muscles hidden under the fusty clothes and dark skin. Taako reached around to run his hands over Kravitz’s back. Oh, fuck yes, very good, Taako likey. Kravitz rolled his shoulders and curved his spine, leaning into the touch. "Is that a subtle hint that you would _like_ your hair pulled? Because I can do that, I just didn't think it would be sexy as an accident." He tossed Taako’s shirt aside and pressed their bare chests together. "Mmmm. You’re very warm."

In response, Taako peppered him with a little chain of soft kisses and ran hands down to the waist of Kravitz’s slacks. He was ready for both of them to be fully naked and tumbled up together. “That’s elves, baby!” he teased. “And you’re right, hair pulling’s much sexier on purpose. Let’s get you out of these pants.”

Kravitz laughed. "Is that really an elf thing? And you first.” Taako was between him and the bed. He thought it would make the most sense to toss Taako down naked before following—and he really, really wanted to see him like that.

“Oooh, a gentleman.” Taako could eat all of this attention with a spoon, sprinkles on top and thick cherry syrup. Kravitz was a _snack._ He helped Kravitz undo his jeans and eagerly pushed the fly open.

"Oh," Kravitz said, gaze riveting down between them. Taako was hard; Kravitz hadn't realized he was enjoying himself that much. His boxer briefs tented around his cock, a small damp spot already forming. Taako breathed a sigh and squirmed at the confines of the fabric. Kravitz got the idea and knelt on the carpet to pull the jeans down the rest of the way, taking the briefs along with them. Daringly, he mouthed at Taako's cock, looking up through his lashes.

“Krav, baby, _yes,”_ Taako gasped. He settled a coaxing hand in Kravitz’s hair.

Kravitz was working on impulse, but Taako's response committed him instantly. He slowly took Taako into his mouth. The heady taste convinced him this was a fantastic idea. He ran his tongue along the shaft and Taako moaned encouragingly. “Babe, your _mouth!”_

Kravitz returned an answering hum. He reached up to adjust Taako's grip on his head, inviting him to press harder, and sucked greedily. The pace he built was all rapid strokes with never quite enough pressure to be satisfying. Taako fairly whined. Kravitz was _teasing._ Taako couldn’t take it, it was _torture_—yeah, he loved it though. 

“So good, don’t stop,” he managed, winding his fingers into Kravitz’s hair. Kravitz complied, hollowing his cheeks and laving his tongue. Hands moved to Taako's ass, stroking and guiding him to rock his hips.

“Oh—fuck, babe, that’s—I’m close, _fuck,”_ Taako moaned.

With a wet, disappointing pop, Kravitz took his mouth off Taako's cock. How dare. "We didn't even make it to the bed," he said, underscored with a throaty laugh. "You can be patient, can't you, love?"

“Yea-aah, I’m good, I’m good—“ Taako panted. He quirked a smile. “Guess it’s been longer than I thought. Go slow?” He pushed suggestively on the back of Kravitz’s head.

Kravitz laughed at him, the jerk. "Mm, it almost seems like you want to come from this." He stroked down Taako's thighs, up his flanks, with light, insistent pressure. He kept his face inches from Taako's cock, turned down to disguise his grin.

Taako's brain was muddled. He did want to come from this, from fucking Kravitz in his bed, so many ways… "Kraaaaav," he whimpered.

"Oh, is it up to me? Well then." Kravitz took Taako's cock back into his mouth, this time with intent. Taako was naked and vulnerable for him and enjoying it. Kravitz had to strip the rest of his composure away. Nothing was so compelling as the idea of Taako shaking against him, desperate for his touch. Taako needed him, and he loved it.

He tilted his head to swallow Taako deeper, his throat hot and slick. _“Gods,_ babe, yes,” Taako moaned. Kravitz’s mouth was wet and his _tongue_—Taako was gonna dream about that tongue.

Kravitz kneaded Taako's thighs, encouraging him to control the pace. He wanted to hear more moans from Taako's lips and know that he was doing well. The way Taako’s breathing shuddered made him dizzy and flushed with exhilaration, even as his jaw grew sore.

“Fuck—fu-uck, babe,” Taako gasped. He stroked his thumb over Kravitz’s cheek. Kravitz captured his hand, nuzzling into it, and closed his eyes. He looked blissful. He looked like he thought Taako was something precious. “You’re so good to me.”

That was exactly what Kravitz wanted to hear. Keeping Taako in the dark had been a mistake. Every time Kravitz tried to control how things were between them, they'd both ended up hurt. He couldn't keep doing that. If their nascent relationship was to last, he had to prove to himself that he could make Taako feel good. He needed to be sure.

He didn’t know how badly Taako wanted to spread him out in bed, in full view, to be touched and kissed and praised for being good and sexy and handsome.

Kravitz redoubled his strokes, losing himself in the way his lips slid across Taako's cock. It was easy to relax into the rhythm. He was alert to the motions that drew Taako's muscles taut, experimenting with his tongue and his teeth and how he held Taako close.

In a burst of self-control, Taako pushed his head back. “Krav, baby, let me fuck you, I wanna—_babe, fuuu_— please—“

Kravitz pulled off him, licking his lips. "Okay," he said, a little hoarsely. "Feeling a bit greedy, hm?"

As if he wasn't fully onboard for this development. It was even better that Taako asked in such a pleading tone. He rested his forehead against Taako's stomach to breathe for a moment, only just realizing he was light-headed.

Taako smirked down and stroked the back of Kravitz’s neck. Greedy? Naturally. He was greedy, and eager, and there were for sure other words for it, but the two of them could google those later when Taako’s brain worked again. He locked his fingers around Kravitz’s wrists and helped pull him to his feet. “Can you blame me? Let’s get these pants off you, I wanna see my beautiful man.”

Kravitz leaned heavily on Taako until he reached the bed. He collapsed and flipped onto his back to stretch his legs. "I've never been grateful for a shag rug before, but kneeling this long on bare floor would've been murder."

Taako leered down at him. “Between my feet and your knees it’s paid for itself.” Kravitz looked wrecked and his dick wasn’t even out yet. A promising bulge stretched the front of his slacks. Kravitz caught Taako’s gaze and squeezed himself through the fabric; his pants really were far too tight. He fumbled for the zipper without looking, letting his head loll among Taako's bunched-up blankets and pillows. They all smelled like him. It was nice, to be in his space.

Taako rummaged in the night table drawer, then paused. “Latex okay? Does that work for you?”

Kravitz was holding up an open wallet and a condom when he turned around. "I, er, brought some too. We can use yours."

Taako grinned. Same page, then. Nice to know Kravitz also put thought into preparation. “Cool,” he said, then paused again, slightly shy. “You want...magic? Or I have regular lube, it’s fine, either way it’s cool.”

Kravitz curled up to pull his pants off. "If you wouldn't mind demonstrating, I've never tried magic lube before."

“Cool,” Taako repeated, feeling slightly more sure of himself. See? It was fine, nothing was gonna happen. Easy. No mistakes. He crawled onto the bed and leaned down to kiss him. Kravitz threw an arm across Taako's back and pulled him close, kissing back.

The kiss was comfortable, familiar after so much practice. But being pressed under Taako's weight in his bed was new territory for Kravitz. Anticipation buzzed in his veins, making Taako's skin feel even softer against his. Propped up in a nest of pillows and warm to his core, he felt like he could do this forever. Like he could never touch Taako enough.

Taako eventually broke the kiss and ran a hand along the length of Kravitz’s body, feeling him shiver at the touch. “Sexy man.” He found the waist of Kravitz’s boxers and began to tease them down. “Let’s get you out of these, they’ll only be in the way.”

"By all means," Kravitz said. As soon as Taako cast the boxers aside, he pulled him back down so they were chest-to-chest. He almost gasped to feel the line of his cock pressed between them, with Taako’s digging into his hip.

“You’re so hard for me,” Taako purred. “Wanna make you feel so good, but first are you gonna take your socks off, or...? Like no judgment while dicks are out, but.” He kissed Kravitz’s nose.

Kravitz burst into laughter. "I wasn't going to bring it up! Socks were the furthest thing from my mind." He wiggled under Taako, toeing his socks off. The friction where their hips pressed together provided a nice bonus. "They're gone. I'm completely naked in your bed, does that satisfy? Are we done talking about socks, they’re not a sexy topic."

Taako stuck his tongue out. “You thought I had a foot fetish,” he reminded Kravitz. “Maybe it _was_ a sexy topic!”

“No,” Kravitz said. “Nope, no, ‘fraid not—”

Taako’s laughter cut him off. “I _am_ loving having you naked, though, been wanting that for a long time.” He ran his hands over the lines of Kravitz’s body. “Want me to get you ready, handsome?”

"Yes, please.” Kravitz’s heart thundered prestissimo. His skin sang under Taako’s fingers, more sensitive than he’d ever been. “I've been wanting this for a long time too."

It only took a second for Taako to cast the spell that would make him slick and ready. Kravitz curled his legs up to allow a finger to tease around his hole. “How’s that feel, babe?” Taako asked.

"It's warm, which makes it a vast improvement over drugstore lube. Would you like me to flip over?" Though he was loath to stop holding Taako, being pressed face-down on the bed had its own appeal.

“Mmm, yeah. Can’t wait to see that, you arched up so pretty for me,” Taako said. He gave Kravitz a quick peck and then shifted aside. Kravitz obediently flipped over, reaching out to steal an ample pillow. Sliding it under his stomach left his back arched exactly as asked. What he hadn't counted on was how much more exposed he'd feel this way. A shiver ran across his skin.

Taako busied himself rolling a condom on. He smiled at the goosebumps raised along Kravitz’s arms and reached out to knead his asscheeks. “I’m starting you off with some fingers, ‘kay? No sense rushing things.”

"That sounds perfect." Kravitz relaxed and let the mattress take his weight. His senses were filled with Taako; the warm press of his body, the scent of his bedclothes, the soft noise of his breathing. Kravitz felt like a starving man seated at a banquet table. For so long he'd been desperate for the lightest touch, and now he could have all of Taako. Everything he wanted.

The first slow slide of a finger into him made him gasp. Heat kindled and shot straight to his cock. He moaned happily, egging Taako on. “Oh, you like that, huh? Good,” Taako said. He pushed the finger in and out, just letting Kravitz get used to his touch before adding another. Kravitz was slick, velvety, and tight. Taako couldn’t wait to feel that around his cock.

Kravitz breathed deeply, attention consumed by how Taako's knuckles caught against his skin through the steady in-out motion. He shifted his hips to press into the pillow. He was flushed, overfull and sensitive with it. Taako's cock was heavy against his thigh. So close to where he wanted it.

“Rushin’ doesn’t feel as good, and I want it to feel _so_ good,” Taako hummed. He kept going, sticking to a nice, easy pace, and rubbed the small of Kravitz’s back affectionately. “Tell me when you’re ready babe, I wanna be inside you so bad.”

"One more finger," Kravitz said. He relished the hot stretch, the way the probing touch made him feel vulnerable, splayed open. It was even better knowing that Taako was a perfect gentleman. He could enjoy the challenge of pushing his body because he was comfortable in all the ways that mattered. "I'm almost there."

Taako pressed another finger in, leaning forward to plant a little kiss between Kravitz’s shoulder blades. “You feel so good already, babe. Just doing this… Mmm, sexy man.”

"I'm glad I can lie here and look handsome for you, since you're so kind as to do all the work," Kravitz replied with a laugh.

Taako laughed too. “Story of my life, doing all the work, lucky this is really fun,” he teased.

Kravitz forced himself to relax for a ten-count, adjusting to the way Taako's fingers flexed inside him. He felt impossibly slick. "I'm ready. I want you."

“You’ve got me.” Taako carefully pulled his fingers free, then lined his cock up with Kravitz’s hole. He pressed in slowly, letting out a little moan as he sank in. “Krav, _fuck_ babe, you feel so fuckin’ good.”

It was a moment before the reply came, Kravitz's throat catching around the words. "You're one to talk. You feel amazing."

They were as close as possible, and yet, somehow, he still wanted more: touch, intimacy, laughter. His appetite had been whetted, not sated. He angled his hips, offering himself up for Taako's pleasure. The tentative, rocking motions sent waves of heat pulsing straight to his neglected cock.

Taako braced himself and began to fuck Kravitz, unhurried. “Yes, gods,” he gasped. That tight warmth was exactly as good as he’d imagined, and the sight of Kravitz facedown under him, locs spilling across his bed, was a feast. He took hold of Kravitz’s hips, running his thumbs back and forth. Finally, after all that had happened, Kravitz was here with him. Still here and not going anywhere.

Taako could hardly believe his luck. He snapped his hips forward, intense and claiming.

Kravitz’s skin throbbed wonderfully where Taako's fingers dug in, a sharp counterpoint to the thrusts. Their bodies moved together. Liquid heat built where they were joined. Every new movement felt more—more urgency, more pleasure. Kravitz went languid and pliant, his cock twitching against the pillow with a deep, unmet need for friction throbbing at the root. “That's good, yes, _please,"_ he panted. 

Taako almost stopped breathing. Gods, Kravitz was...he was _perfect,_ they fit together, hand in glove, and Taako was _weak._ He wanted all of Kravitz forever, fingers and mouth and skin and snug hole.

And heart. Sweet, anxious heart.

“Good, good, yes, fuck babe, tell me. Tell me how you like it,” Taako managed. That _please_—oh, that single syllable was doing things to Taako that he hadn’t anticipated, but he wanted to be unmade by it.

"Exactly like this," Kravitz panted. "With maybe a small favor. Please?"

“Anything babe, just tell me.” Taako wanted to make Kravitz moan and arch and come. He flexed his fingers on Kravitz’s hips, affectionate and grasping all at once. Kravitz rose to his knees, pressing back into Taako. Taking him to the root.

Kravitz twisted, finding that he couldn’t angle his arm appropriately while supporting his weight. The pillow was in the way. His cock hung heavy between his legs, flushed and aching to be touched. "Mmm, love, could you spare a hand for me?"

"'Course babe." Taako slipped his hand underneath, stroking Kravitz’s belly and down to his cock. "So hard for me," he crooned. He gave an experimental pump, feeling the weight and length in his hand. Delicious. "Sexy man, letting me touch you just right."

"Yes, that's—_yes."_ Kravitz gasped and clenched as Taako pumped him again. This was hardly new territory, but having Taako at the reins intensified the pleasure. This was special. It was his turn to moan, throaty and almost musical.

Taako’s breath caught. “Good, _fuck_ babe, you’re amazing.” He stroked Kravitz’s cock in time with his thrusts. Kravitz’s back was stunning, and his _shoulders_—the strain of holding himself up brought out such definition, this man was a work of art.

There they were, closer than Taako could ever have dreamed, sweaty and tangled and flushed with heat, and Kravitz’s gasps of pleasure meant he _liked_ it. Taako was so glad; he liked it too, and wanted to do it again and again for the foreseeable future. But he didn't say so aloud. Neither did Kravitz—if they had, they may have discovered they were of the same mind.

Kravitz was clamping his teeth over the words bubbling up from his chest. Sex was not the right moment for a confession of love. When he made that declaration, he wanted no misunderstanding to be possible. Taako deserved to be sure that Kravitz's feelings were not provoked by unsated lust.

There was no doubt that Kravitz would love Taako on their worst days, when they were prickly with stress and discomfort. He would love Taako even if sex was never on the table. He would love Taako even if Taako didn't love him back.

Those thoughts were easy to wrap up safely for later. In this moment, the slim fingers stroking his cock demanded Kravitz’s full attention. Unthinkingly, he stuttered his hips, desperate for every bit of friction. "You're perfect. I'm—I'm close."

“I’m close too, babe, right behind you,” Taako breathed. He was aching to come, hanging on every move Kravitz made. He wanted to draw this out, but he never wanted it to end. He stretched to capture Kravitz’s mouth in a filthy, needy kiss.

He’d been on the edge ever since those plush lips were wrapped around him, and now he was right back there again. He tightened and twisted his grip, catching the pad of his thumb under the head of Kravitz’s cock, searching for the perfect rhythm to draw him taut with desperation.

Kravitz shoved flush with Taako's hips and snapped forward into his hand, once, twice, throat choking around moans. He came with a deluge of pleasure that wiped out awareness of everything except Taako pressing into and around him. All the tension left his body. Boneless, he sagged into the mattress.

“Krav—good. Good, yes, _fuck_—” Taako cried, the words coming out strangled as he gave a few last thrusts and came buried deep in Kravitz. He shuddered with relief. This was so much, so much and so good; the sensation flashed through him like lightning and stole his breath.

When he finally remembered how lungs worked he panted a little, leaning down over Kravitz, with a big stupid smile across his face. Kravitz craned his neck to kiss the corner of Taako’s mouth.

Adorable. Taako was keeping him forever. "Hey," Kravitz murmured, a little weakly. "You're comfortable."

Taako wheezed a laugh. He kissed Kravitz back, just a sweet little smooch full of affection. _“Comfortable?_ I mean thanks, I guess. Does that mean you’ll cuddle with me once I get us cleaned up a little?”

Kravitz blinked, visibly processing. He felt unbelievably good, full and slick and warm all over. He snaked an arm around to capture Taako's free hand in his. "But we're cuddling right now. Must you move?" To demonstrate the veracity of this argument, he kissed Taako again, missing his lips entirely.

Taako cracked up. “Babe—hold on, it’ll be even better, promise.” He freed his hand and knelt back. Kravitz grumbled as he gently pulled out, then he shucked off the condom and tossed it into a small trash can by the nightstand.

Kravitz rolled over and extended open arms in an implicit demand. Taako winked and first cast a simple spell with some extra oomph, cleaning bodies and sheets and pillows and hands in a split second. The sudden absence of slick on his skin was a pleasant shock for Kravitz. Being clean did help him feel more human, less used up. "Alright, that really was so convenient that I can't complain. Have I told you that you're brilliant today?"

"Hmmm, maybe. But I'll give you a pass for saying it again," Taako teased. He dutifully collapsed into Kravitz’s arms and wrapped him in a hug, planting a kiss on his forehead. "Have I told you you're handsome today? 'Cause I finally got a proper look and _whew_— Jaw-dropping, mesmerizing."

Kravitz blushed with pride and grinned up at Taako. "Well, you're beautiful. And amazing. I don't know if I've ever met someone with so many talents. I feel very lucky that you want me around."

Taako chuckled. “‘Course I want you around! Who wouldn’t? And is this relationship just us falling into bed and fucking each other brainless and then complimenting each other? I’m super on board with it, wow, can’t believe we invented romance.”

"I think you definitely merit the addition of 'invented romance' to your list of accomplishments." Kravitz wound his arms around Taako. If he hugged tight enough, maybe getting rid of him would be too inconvenient and he'd be invited to stay the night.

“You helped!” Taako protested lightly. “They have to give us joint credit. You’re such a sexy man, and you’re sweet to me, can’t believe I’m so lucky. I can’t believe Merle was onto something with ‘Taakitz’.”

Kravitz harrumphed and burrowed his face in Taako’s neck. His eyelashes tickled. "I have to rethink this entire relationship if we're validating Merle." 

Taako giggled and squeezed Kravitz affectionately, then ran fingers up his collar. “You know, these shoulders have had me going for—for like, a while, since the Munch Run, easy.” 

"Hang on a tick. I was devising some comment about how amazing you are and why that's why I'm with you, not because of Merle's shipping habits, but—since the 5K? You were ogling me back then? Wasn't that the day I overheated from being wrapped head-to-toe?"

“Yeah, and you took your entire shirt off. Even with the undershirt you’re still mega hot, can you blame me? Have you seen you? I was just saving myself for my Grindr crush is all, or else I might’ve called you a hunk to your face,” Taako answered with a snort. “Good thing the whole situation worked out great.” He leaned a little closer to kiss Kravitz sweetly.

Kravitz struggled to control his laughter long enough to kiss back. "I was so exhausted that I completely forgot I did that. And you—you were wearing those shorts! The short ones! I spent so much of the morning trying to not notice your legs. I always thought you were insultingly pretty, but I was too enamored of—well, you—T_sizzle—to give it any real thought."

From his upturned nose to the gap between his teeth, Taako was beautiful. He was nothing like Kravitz had imagined—inside or out—but Kravitz liked him very much. Those slim fingers with bony knuckles and calluses were his tools of trade, and perfect for it. They were as lovely as the delightfully mobile ears that twitched with every emotion that crossed his face. As lovely as the way his attention was always piercing, and he strobed it to the effect of seeming unengaged, until some canny insight revealed he’d been listening all along and was three steps ahead of everyone else.

Those sharp eyes were fixed on Kravitz now, making him feel like he had the center stage. “Really? My shorts got you? Babe, that’s hysterical, I can’t believe we were both checking each other out.” Taako wheezed laughter. He laughed like he was so overcome with humor that he couldn’t get enough air, like he was putting his whole chest into the effort. Kravitz loved how readily tears of joy came to his eyes. “Gods, we were kinda idiots, huh?”

"I'm still an idiot, and I doubt I'll be any more composed the next time you choose to show that much leg."

Taako reveled in Kravitz’s response. Compliments and no trace of a grab for control? Not everyone Taako had dated had been entirely comfortable with the idea that he planned on wearing exactly as much or as little as he pleased and _whatever_ he pleased, regardless of who was allowed in his bed. His personal style wasn’t anyone else’s fuckin’ business, and critics could take a hike. Another point in Kravitz’s favor. Taako would like to keep him in an equally non-gross way, please. He muttered a pleased, wordless affirmation into Kravitz’s cheek.

Kravitz eased his grip on Taako to reach down and teasingly stroke his thigh. He felt so good, snuggling together with their limbs tangled. He could easily sleep like this. Every night, ideally. Might be something to consider, later, maybe just one night at a time.

What Kravitz should do, if he hewed to his personal standard of responsibility, was struggle back into his clothing. The schedule he set for himself dictated that he should give up on his dream of sleeping in Taako’s arms and head home.

And he hadn’t packed to stay the night. He had a violin and his school bag, but no change of clothes. Nor did he have anything required for his nightly grooming routine. Not even a toothbrush. Sleeping on Taako's pillow with his hair loose would be terrible for his locs. After their athletics, he must already be shedding broken-off wisps of curls.

He really needed to do his assigned reading on how shifting interpretations of reincarnation in varied theological doctrines throughout the nineteenth century impacted the themes presented in romantic operas. He should sit at his cinderblock-and-plywood desk, crack his textbook open, bend over the chapter while massaging oil into his scalp, and wear conditioner under a cap clear till he woke up in bed in the morning. Alone. 

Responsibility and vanity be damned. He'd sooner shave his head than move one inch away from Taako. So seldom was he happy. For this night, he just wanted to be happy. "I don't suppose you know what time it is? Perhaps we could finish that movie? If it's not too much of an imposition."

Taako checked his phone. “It’s not that late. Just past midnight, Lup won’t even be off work yet. You wanna watch it in here on my phone though? ‘S comfier than the couch, and then we don’t have to get up...like for— Y’know, we could just, you were gonna stay? Before, right? Do you wanna— You don’t have to, but...”

Kravitz's heart swelled with joy. "If you’re offering to host, I would love to stay right here. It didn't even occur to me that we could watch in bed." He nestled happily into Taako's side and squeezed him tight. "I was briefly resigned to putting clothes on so we'd be respectable on your couch when Lup arrives. I like this reality much better."

“Oh, fuck clothes, I’d much rather have naked movie time with you. And in the morning we can have breakfast. Lup won’t mind; she will tease, but she won’t mind.”

"If you're sure. I'm more than willing.” Kravitz dragged blankets across them both while Taako loaded the movie to stream on his phone. He kissed Kravitz’s temple and snuggled up close. 

Kravitz closed his eyes and turned his face into Taako's neck. He had needed this so badly; the animal comfort of skin against skin, being allowed to hold and cherish someone who meant the world to him. He felt fragile, like the pressure of his emotions would shatter him if he tried to let them out.

"You're spoiling me," he eventually whispered, relegating himself to safe topics. "Dinner, sex, a movie in bed? This is unbelievably decadent."

Taako laughed over the movie. If this was spoiling? Kravitz was gonna lose his mind when Taako really went all out. “I’m your boyfriend, if I don’t spoil you what’s even the point?” he said, tracing little swirls on Kravitz’s skin. “Plus I’m getting spoiled too. I’m doing all this with you.”

He settled a little deeper into the pillow. Gods, this felt good. And Kravitz was gonna stay. Taako was so excited, he was gonna get to relish the feel of Kravitz’s body close to his all night, and make pancakes, or bacon and eggs, or who knows what in the morning. This weekend was perfect. They were perfect together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the well-wishes last week! Everything's good where we are.


	32. Smarter Than Before/we'll have each other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako and Lup are back on their bullshit. Kravitz watches the show and eats pancakes incorrectly.

After the best night’s sleep of his life, Kravitz sat at Taako's kitchen table with his chin propped in folded hands. A besotted smile curved his lips. They'd woken just before noon, curled up together with Kravitz's forehead pressed against Taako's back, then kissed languidly until their grumbling stomachs forced them out of bed.

Lup wasn't awake yet, but in deference to propriety, Kravitz donned borrowed clothes before he joined Taako in the kitchen—a cotton shirt and a draping floor-length skirt, since he couldn't squeeze into any of Taako's pants. He was surprised to find himself so perfectly comfortable. Maybe he needed to steal Taako’s clothes on a regular basis.

For the past several minutes, he'd been dreamily watching as Taako mixed up pancake batter and heated a pan. The peace between them didn't feel fragile. The voice in the back of Kravitz's head that kept insisting things would eventually end was silent. Maybe because he was rested, or because he was wrapped in Taako's comforting presence, but he felt more secure than he'd ever been.

"You're lovely like this," he said softly, over the quiet hiss of the gas range.

Taako chuckled and flipped a pancake. This first one looked undercooked, so he’d be invoking chef’s privilege and eating it with his hands over the stove. Only photogenic pancakes would grace the table set for his boyfriend. “Thank you, it’s all the happiness, nature’s beauty product,” he teased. “Probably has something to do with seeing you in my clothes.”

Upon waking, Taako’s first thought had been Kravitz, and his first sight and sound and smell. He’d thought he was dreaming, but he wasn’t waking up, and quite honestly didn’t want to. As a bonus, Kravitz wearing his things made the possessive part of his brain very happy.

He scarfed the failed pancake and spooned out batter for a second. “How many of these are you gonna want? You hungry?” he said with a full mouth. It was okay, Kravitz still found him plenty sexy.

"Am I hungry for pancakes my boyfriend made? Absolutely." Kravitz's blissful smile stretched wider. Presently, his tactic of choice was to shower Taako with effusive compliments. Taako hadn’t caught on yet that Kravitz was seeking safe outlets for his burgeoning affection, lest he slip up and use the 'L word’ in an unequivocal context. He didn't want to come on too strong and scare Taako away. "You're the best. I treasure your cooking, honestly. How did you get so good?"

Taako shrugged, feigned casualness covering for glee. Having an enthusiastic audience for his cooking was kind of the ideal, and his boyfriend being the audience transcended that. “I learned cooking by fucking up a whole bunch until I didn’t anymore. Well, not as much anyway. Not everything turns out perfect all the time, but that’s part of the adventure.”

Honestly, if he set aside all the grand dreams he talked up with Lup, this was his perfect date. He and Kravitz didn’t have to do a lot of fancy stuff, for sure neither of them could afford that. But they could kinda make room for each other in their respective lives, and that would be nice in a way all their own. “Is that how you learned music? Made a bunch of awful noise until it started sounding good?” he asked Kravitz, giving the skillet a jiggle to see if the pancake was ready to turn.

"Ah, no," Kravitz said. He laughed quietly to himself. "I sort of envy your attitude. I was so afraid of making 'awful noise' that I restrained myself quite thoroughly. Picture, mmm, picture a tiny, dour kid about yea high—" he held palm out at the table's height, "lurking back against the wall while the teacher handed out instruments. I always wanted the drums, and I always asked for the triangle instead, because that had the smallest part. I was terrified of messing up and being laughed at. I played that triangle for three bloody years before anyone, least of all me, realized I had musical talent. Doing things your way would have doubtlessly been a lot better."

Yeah, Taako could picture that. He’d seen Kravitz brood. It was something like two weeks past introductions before he even realized Krav had a sense of humor, and they were _obviously_ meant to be soulmates. Poor little Kravitz, wallflower triangle boy, waiting to be noticed but terrified that it would be for a negative reason. 

Taako was gonna stuff this guy full of pancakes and bundle him in a hug and keep him forever. “It’d’ve been a dick move for them to laugh, ‘specially when they were probably gonna mess up next. Who figured out that you were musical?”

"Well, I knew what I was in for when I was placed with Mr. Richardson. I was about six, and his whole thing was piano. No one got through his house without being made to spend hours on that bench. It was how he'd made his living, before he retired—I think he was actually a...music vicar? We call those requiemists. Anyway, he of course did his regular lessons for me, and I. Um.”

Kravitz shifted in his seat. Taako gestured with the spatula for him to get on with it. “C’mon babe, you’ve got the mic. Don’t leave me hanging on this good good story here.”

“I was hugely nerdy about it,” Kravitz confessed, looking sheepish. “I loved the piano. I loved _sheet music,_ and let me tell you, no normal six year old loves sheet music. He caught me not just working ahead, but rooting through his composition books for much more advanced students. He was so proud. The next day, he didn't even wait to get to the commons. He spent the greeting session before—” Kravitz hunted for the right word. “Well, not before mass, we don’t have mass. Homily, maybe?”

Taako snorted and slid a fresh pancake onto a plate to make room for the next ladle of batter. He vaguely remembered learning that Kravitz was religious...something about some queen? Goth bird lady. Not a god that had anything against fornicating, hopefully, cuz that ship had sailed. “Babe, what’re you asking me for? I’m not gonna know better words. I called myself a follower of Oghma for like, a week, then I kinda forgot about it. I’ll tag along with Angus if no one from his temple is available for grandpa-wranglin’, and that’s _it_, that’s ch’boy’s entire experience with religion.” Discounting Merle’s thing with plants, because he worked hard to scrub that from his brain.

Kravitz laughed. “Okay, so, Mr. Richardson pretty much shouted to the rafters that I was a genius. I seriously considered burying myself in the cemetery to get away, I was so embarrassed."

Taako chuckled. “Well, he was right.” He flipped the next pancake. “Did they start to pay some attention then? And teach you more instruments? I haven’t even seen you on the piano, except that time you ditched me ‘n Lup. You’re not forgiven, by the way. I’m definitely gonna spit in these pancakes.”

Kravitz laughed. “Should I make a quip here about how I’ve already eaten plenty of your spit? Swapping spit?”

“Gross!” Taako brandished the spatula. “Here I am, slaving away over a hot stove to make food for you, and you’re being _gross!_ And dodging the question, don’t think I’m not wise to your bullshit.”

Answering so many questions about himself felt odd. Kravitz wasn't used to being… being…_tested_ like this. But, upon further thought, it was clear that Taako's motivations were innocuous. He was simply a good boyfriend: attentive, considerate, making Kravitz pancakes. Kravitz blushed. "Yes, they did teach me, sort of. I feel like I'm rambling, to be honest."

“You’re not rambling, babe, I wanna know!” Taako said lightly. “What do you mean sort of? What happened next? I’m on the edge of my seat.”

Kravitz buried his face in his hands. "Oh my lady. Why am I reliving childhood embarrassments in your kitchen on our first morning together? Okay, fine. It's fine. If you want the gory details, here they are: Ian Richardson crowed to the limitless seas that I was a prodigy, so every single adult in my life gave me assorted children's instruments for the next five years. Birthday tambourines. Solstice xylophones. Candlenights— Whatever those odd little drum things were, the ones on sticks with wooden balls attached by string." He motioned with his hands, rubbing his palms together to demonstrate how you twirled the thing to make the balls strike the drum.

Taako turned the stove off and moved the pan to the back. He ferried the plate of pancakes over to the table, already set with cutlery, maple syrup, homemade lemon curd, peanut butter, regular butter, hot sauce, and all other essentials.

He sat down and reached for Kravitz’s hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. “You’re really embarrassed over this, babe? Speaking as someone who knows nada-zip-zilch about supportive guardians, it sounds kinda sweet. They must’ve believed in you. And they were right to, y’know?” Kravitz deserved for his folks to believe in him. Every kid did, probably. “Plus, Lup’s right in the other room, and you know she’ll tell you all kinds of good dirt on me.”

"Now you're being so nice to me that I feel ridiculous." Kravitz squeezed Taako’s hand, then dropped it so they could dish out pancakes. “I think they were somewhat keen to find a hobby for me. In retrospect, I brooded rather a lot for a small child. What you called my 'gargoyle routine'. I didn't have anyone like Lup—no siblings, close friends, or partners in crime. You're very lucky."

“Damn skippy!” called Lup. She came wandering out of her bedroom, dressed in an oversized t-shirt and soft sleep shorts. “You two being gross, or is it safe to grab some pancakes?”

Taako stuck his tongue out. “We’re talking about Krav being a very serious boy, just the most grave. All rated PG.”

“PG? Well, that makes sense, without someone like me to be the life of the party. Taako’d still be an emo boy if I didn’t snap him out of it,” Lup teased.

“Hey!”

“It’s true, emo—”

“Watch it, Evanescence—”

“First of all how dare you disresp—”

“Coming in here with your Mary Shelley ass—”

“Gods, okay, that one wins,” Lup laughed.

"Oh, I can see it now." Kravitz smirked at the twins. "I think you both could really make heavy eyeliner work."

“Oh, you better believe, we probably kept Wet ‘n Wild afloat financially for a solid few years,” Lup agreed.

“Mmm, yeah, that’s for sure, and remember how we always had green spots on our skin from like, cheap jewelry?” Taako put in. “At least they only thought I just had ‘too many feelings for a boy’ or whatever BS. Pretty sure one of those school counselors was actually scared of you.”

“They should be,” Lup deadpanned, then cracked up.

Kravitz snorted. "Did you both float around school in dark clothing and stacks of accessories, with bangs covering half your faces? Did you play up being twins?"

“Psssh, no one missed that we were twins, mostly it was hard to get them to see how we were different,” Taako said. “Lup was a morbid spooky girl— Look, you still are, let’s be real.”

“I mean yeah, and Taako, you were like, 80% checkerboard patterns and Arctic Fox by weight. I kept waiting for you to join a band and become truly insufferable,” Lup teased.

“Wow, wooooow,” Taako laughed, only mock-offended.

If Taako had gone the band route, he would be of a kind with every other boy Kravitz had dated. And none of those relationships went anywhere, so Kravitz deeply appreciated his uniqueness. "No, Taako, I support you. I admit to spending some allowance money on checkerboard Vans myself. So, if Lup wasn't—what youth subcultures are we talking about? Emo and scene?"

It sounded like Kravitz graduated high school a century ago, instead of barely over four years. “I was goth, through and through,” Lup explained. She upturned the maple syrup over her pancakes. “Complete with the sense of history and widely revered litera—“

Taako slapped the syrup bottle out of her hands before her plate overflowed. The sticky plastic bounced and landed upright. Lup barely reacted; this level of shenaniganry was routine for the twins. “Yeah, Lulu here sprung fully formed from the loins of Poe and like...a memento mori or something, like morbid death girl, like okay— I have a question that I’ll immediately regret.” Taako speared Lup with a judgmental look. “If you and Barold didn’t go to his place and you didn’t come home ‘til like three am, the other week after the festival? Please just tell me you weren’t boning in a cemetery.”

“Do you really think that’s what happened? Do you really think we hooked up in a graveyard somewhere, Ko?”

“That’s not a denial! That’s not—that’s another question!” Taako protested.

"That would have been exceedingly disrespectful, and doesn't sound like something someone training in the funerary arts would do," Kravitz put in.

“See? See what I’m saying? Thank you, Krav,” Lup said smugly.

Taako spluttered. “I still don’t, actually, I don’t see it, it’s still murky!”

“We drove around and looked at the stars on back roads,” Lup said with affected piety, holding back a laugh. “This is slander!”

Kravitz laughed. Some small part of him had expected to be anxious, facing Lup after being grilled over dinner at the McDonalds’s. Instead, with all pretense ripped away, their conversations came as naturally as if they'd been friends for years. And it wasn't just because of the twins' charisma. He couldn't rationalize the feeling. But it was like he was meant to be here.

He decided to part ways with civility and grabbed the hot sauce for his pancakes. "So, Taako, if I were to turn over a goth leaf and suggest bonking in a cemetery, you would be wholly opposed. It's good to know you're an elf of character."

Lup’s mouth hung open. “No one says ‘bonking’, holy _shit.”_

“I would draw the line at kissing under a big tree or on one of those benches or something,” Taako said primly. “Or wait, no—you can also grab my ass as we walk along solemnly, but that’s _it.”_

“That’s just comfort in a trying time,” Lup offered mischievously.

“Exactly, that’s just _support,”_ Taako chuckled. “But if you want to go full goth you’ll apparently fit right in around here, go nuts.”

Kravitz reached for the butter dish. "I don't have the wardrobe to pull off full goth. The accessories alone would require some serious shopping. Was it all Hot Topic for you, Lup?"

“Little bit of Hot Topic, lotta bit of thrifting and upcycling. Taako’s a genius with that,” Lup answered.

“Gotta work with what you got,” Taako agreed.

“If you hadn’t become a chef you could’ve gone into fashion, or ooh! Maybe a TV show.”

"I suppose it's lucky you're both the same age, so neither of you had to suffer hand-me-downs," Kravitz said.

“True. What about you, babe, you ever get up to any fashion shenanigans? Ill-advised neon? 90s sweaters? Retro shoulder pads?” Taako teased, cutting his pancake into tiny bite-size pieces.

“Cowboy—no, cowgoth!” Lup cackled, holding up her fingers as though framing a shot. “Looking like Johnny Cash at a funeral or something!”

Kravitz chewed and swallowed a mouthful of pancake. Lup had seen him garbed in ‘business casual for broke college boys who work retail’ too many times, apparently. "Okay, yes, I did something like a 'desaturated cowboy' look for a couple years. But that wasn't by choice. As it so happens, when you amass a party of graying Raven Queen adherents to select children's clothing, a few themes repeat. The cowboy thing was sort of an emergent effect from all the flannel dress shirts and dark wash jeans."

Taako tapped his chin thoughtfully and stirred his pancake bits. “Mmm, not bad, but we can do better. I’ll have to show you some cheap favorites. You’re absolutely rocking that skirt, by the way, I love that.”

Lup grinned and got up to grab some coffee. “Yeah, _my_ skirt, looks like.”

“Nuh-uh! This is from last year’s Target run, and _you_ got that crimson godet number! All the accordion skirts are _mine_, I only let you borrow ‘em out of pity—”

“You researched this! You looked up ‘accordion skirt’ and whatever a ‘godet’ is cuz you were gearing up to argue with me to get that skirt back! Did you steal it out of the laundry?”

“‘S’not stealing if it was mine to begin with!”

“Like, every shrug I own is hanging up in your closet right now—”

“‘Scuse you, you weren’t wearing them to their full potential, like me with _my_ skirt—”

“It’s very purple, you super don’t need any more purple in your wardrobe, you wanna look like that Violet Beauregarde blueberry brat—”

Kravitz stabbed a pancake-topped fork at the twins. “Your custody battle is going to have to wait, because I’m not stripping.”

“Stripping again, you mean,” Taako joked in undertone. Lup’s ears swiveled and she mimed throwing her mug at him.

“For now, this skirt is mine,” Kravitz finished firmly, rolling his eyes at his terrible, terrible boyfriend.

“Love those lines on you, for sure,” Lup agreed. “While we’re on clothing: do you now or have you ever worn argyle socks, Krav? Just gotta ask.”

Kravitz paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. “Where did that question come from? I thought argyle was a generic pattern for socks? Also, are either of you actually eating pancakes? At this point, you may as well cut out the middleman and chug from the syrup bottle."

Taako stabbed his fork into the pancake stack and dragged a couple floppy golden boys onto his plate to drown in syrup. “Hell yeah! Serve it up, kemosabe. This is the fake stuff, just some of that grade-A Saturday morning nostalgia here.”

“So it’s dirt cheap and we could totally drink it if we wanted,” Lup finished, coming to sit back down with a steaming mug of black coffee.

“Please don’t, I’m nauseated by the notion,” Kravitz said. “Eat something with...I want to say nutrients, but I think I can only credit the pancakes with carbohydrates. Still better for you than syrup.”

“Tell us stuff about you and we can fill our mouths during. Interesting answer on the socks,” Lup said cryptically.

"I'm not sure it's possible for socks to be interesting, but okay. And I'd much rather hear about what you're studying, Lup." Kravitz sipped his water to emphasize how very much it was not his turn to talk.

Lup toasted with her mug. "Are you suuuuure you wanna hear all the gory details? ‘Cause I think Taako might murder me if I get too deep into embalming, and if I die who's gonna prep the body, ya feel me?"

"Don't—don't—she's right, I absolutely don't want this with my pancakes, please save me, babe, tell me all about your bird temple, I know it's important to you but I hardly know anything else about it," Taako pleaded, popping more pancake into his mouth.

Kravitz would almost rather hear about Lup's embalming than follow this conversational track. He grew up in the Raven Queen's faith, surrounded by people who shared it. There was never any reason to talk about the basics. Everyone read the same texts and attended the same ceremonies. 

Plus, none of his past boyfriends had ever shown a hint of interest. Except that one wannabe-DJ who just used it as an opening to gab on about his own god, Corellon. That relationship lasted about three weeks.

"I mean, it's—it's normal?” he started tentatively. “She's not as big as the other gods, but we still have, uh, our own building. Not in a multifaith complex. My congregation in particular I mean, there are others in other places. With clergy and meetings and whatnot. We host a lot of funerals. Um, sometimes we do ice cream socials. Sorry, we don't really proselytize. I have no idea what to say here. They raised me? They pay most of my tuition."

"Wait wait wait, hold up." Lup's ears were pointed straight towards the ceiling. She gestured between Kravitz and Taako with her fork. "So you, you're a faithful boy, with this whole big thing at the center of your life. And to you, is this all news? You're at basics like 'oh we had a building dur hur hur'. Do you guys hmmmm, _taaaaaalk?_ In between the tonsil spelunking?"

“There’s—there’s all kinds of ways to be reli—we’ve only been together like a week, we have time!” Taako protested. “He didn’t, like, run me through a conversion class in our Grindr DMs!”

“I’m just saying, though, religion is a big deal! A compatibility thing! You two gotta talk about this typa shit—without just getting your dicks out, y’know?” Lup insisted.

"But when does this sort of thing come up?" Kravitz protested. "You don't—we were on Grindr—you don't go 'hey, let's compare butts, and then would you like to hear about my personal lady and savior? You don't do that!"

"Okay, the fact that that's the icebreaker you came up with illuminates everything for me. I feel enlightened as to how y’all kept busy without ever exchanging _names_," Lup twirled her fork and grinned, way too pleased with herself. "Do I even wanna ask what you guys talked about on Grindr for eight entire months? I think I knew Barry's shoe size by like, our second date. That's how tapped for conversational topics we were."

“Well—well okay, shoe size did come up, in fairness,” Taako said, giving Kravitz a mischievous look.

Lup followed Taako’s gaze to Kravitz and threw her hand up in front of her mouth to stifle a laugh. “He got you at pool!”

“He got me at pool,” Kravitz confirmed.

“What about other stuff, though?” Lup went on. “Mutual hobbies? Did you two—hold up—did you even check this boy’s Facebook, Ko, are you kidding me?”

_"Did_ you find my facebook?" Kravitz asked, curious. "Obviously not before, well, before last Thursday, but—since then?"

Taako pulled out his phone. “Nooooot yet, quick, Krav, what’s your last name?”

Well, a certain elf did not read their work emails carefully, it seemed. Kravitz would tease him for it later. “Oh my gods,” Lup groaned. “Fucking Carrie Underwood bullshit, oh my gods, are you serious?”

Kravitz smirked and crossed his bare ankles under the table. "I at least found out Taako's full name before going home with him...the second time.”

“So one of you boys had two brain cells to rub together—“ Lup began, ducking out of the way as Taako flailed his hand trying to shush her.

“Wait," Kravitz said. His eyes widened as Taako left off flailing at Lup and she straightened up. "Wait. I think I have my screen name set to something silly."

“You think? Hold up, babe, how don’t you know?” Taako asked. “It shows every time you log in.”

"Yes, let me just—" Kravitz patted his thigh. "Oh. This skirt does not have pockets and my phone wouldn't be in them anyway, because I left it on your nightstand. One moment." He leapt out of his seat.

A moment later he strode back into the kitchen with his nose buried in the screen. He at least had Fantasy Facebook installed—wasn't it a default app?

Lup started laughing so hard she nearly inhaled pancake. "Oh my god, what is that?" she coughed.

Kravitz cupped a hand protectively around his chunky lozenge of a phone. "It's a Samsung."

"From which decade?"

"Look," Kravitz said testily. "Look, it's—it's perfectly functional—"

“Babe,” Taako said, suddenly three-quarters serious, “Krav, darling, it’s important to me that you know that this is garbage that you’re somehow making work, like...it’s not _okay,_ it just _is,_ right?”

“It reminds me of the ones—remember the endlessly rebooting ones?” Lup said.

Taako nodded. “Yeah, for sure, good riddance to those, they worked while we had ‘em, but barely.”

"I'll put 'new phone' on the appropriate budget tier of my wishlist, alongside items such as 'Armani wristwatch' and 'London vacay'," Kravitz quipped.

Upon being opened, the app complained that it needed an update. Kravitz tapped his fingers impatiently. Of course it did, he hadn’t been on facebook in years and he had auto updates turned off out of necessity. He placed his phone on the far side of his plate, clearly visible to the twins. He hit 'update'. As it crashed, he cut another slice of pancake with a heavy sigh.

"I think this model's from 2011," he admitted. "It was a present for starting high school. Maybe I could borrow one of your phones to log in, or you could just search for 'Kravitz' and see what comes up?"

“Oof. Oof, lemme just search, yeah,” Taako said. “Hey, maybe with some of this overtime, one of these days you could replace this thing, right?”

Lup peeked over Taako’s shoulder, glancing from the list of Kravitzes on the phone to the flesh and blood Kravitz. Taako’s scrolling abruptly halted. The twins’ ears flicked forward in unison. Lup stifled a squawk of amusement. _“Grim Kravitz?_ I can’t—how old is this picture, Krav?”

Kravitz grimaced. Well, on the bright side, at least his spooky pseudonym would keep the twins from discovering his full name just yet. He'd been roasted enough for one morning.

Taako brandished the screen at him. The picture was so much worse than he remembered. He and four other teenagers from marching band smiled at the camera in full uniform. However pixelated the image was, their winged shirt cuffs, brassy buttons, and blotchy skull facepaint were clearly visible. Their suits were very green and very black and large black plumes sprouted from their drum major hats.

Kravitz heaved a sigh as Lup doubled over laughing. "There you go, you found my facebook. Last used circa Halloween 2013, I think. Our “Monster Mash” won the Six Rivers regionals. We all changed our facebook names to celebrate, it was, it was a whole thing, I swear."

Taako wiped a fake tear of laughter from his eye and thumped Lup’s back while she choked. “Krav, baby, I get it. This picture? I’d wait til I snagged you for real, too, maybe just squirrel it away til I see a ring, like—“ he burst out laughing again. “I’m just teasing you, you know this, but this is priceless!”

“It is a _lot,_ I’m so glad to bear witness to this _gift,”_ Lup giggled hysterically. “The _hat_— Taako, you can never make fun of me for sleeping with Tom Arnold’s lost twin brother again.”

Kravitz's entire face had gone dark and hot. Teasing about rings was a lot to deal with on top of everything else this morning. He couldn't tell what Taako meant by that joke, and while Lup's raised eyebrows may indicate some greater understanding on her part, there was no way for him to ask for her interpretation—

Okay. Okay. What was of chief importance here was not having an anxiety attack over breakfast with his boyfriend. Gods. Of course he wanted to get married! But long-term, not— It was too early— He had no financial prospects—

"I'm so glad my old band photo amuses." Kravitz said, in a tone that might have been smooth if he hadn't choked for a good five seconds first. His album on facebook featured more pictures of the same, and he was suddenly sure he'd never made it private. Time to deflect. "I declare turnabout to be fair play. Tell me about your embarrassing extracurriculars."

Taako gave a nervous little laugh. Lup was skewering him with _The Look,_ so he must have taken a joke to a weird place again, oops. It was a joke, he wasn’t expecting a ring after one night—okay, yeah, anyway. “Okay, there was pottery. Clay everywhere, all the time, it did not last long though. Lup, you remember how the teacher—Ms. Calhoun?”

“Callahan, I thought— No wait, Sullavan, that’s the one,” Lup supplied.

“Yeah, that’s right, she was always on my ass about following directions, acting like she knew better, major personality clash,” Taako explained.

A knowing light twinkled in Lup's eyes. "Mhm-hmm, it sure is annoying when someone thinks they know how to do things best and turns into a stubborn ass over it. Somehow, apropos of totally nothing, I'm reminded of the time you got a week's ISS from Mr. Rick in home ec."

Kravitz shoved a fist against his mouth to hide a grin. "In-school suspension? Taako, were you a _bad boy?"_

Lup pulled a face. "Oh, wow, I hate how you said that. But tell the story, Taakoroni. Your bee eff needs to know what he's signed up for."

“Okay, so first of all, it makes sense that you’d connect the two because ol’ Rick also wouldn’t recognize talent if it slapped him,” Taako began. “Secondly, have we not all, from time to time, made something above and beyond an assignment and then fomented a minor student revolution to get it legitimized? All part of the high school experience. Thirdly, babe if you’re gonna throw around words like _good boy_ and _bad boy_ we’re gonna need to step into my room for a real fun conversation.” He winked, ignoring Lup’s fake gagging.

"I can't answer that as I'd like to in front of your sister, you know this," Kravitz said. He returned the wink for good measure, the wheels in his head spinning over what 'minor student revolution' could possibly mean. "But I'd love to revisit the subject at a more opportune moment."

Lup rolled her eyes so hard her pupils vanished. "Unsubtle topic change! Kravitz, you gotta accept my friend request on facebook so I can spy on you. Should I even ask if you have other social media?"

"I'm not giving you my old MySpace, if that's what you're after."

"Holy shit. Taako, where did you find this guy?"

“Grindr,” Taako answered breezily. “Or wait, Krav, do you wanna tell folks ‘we met online’ or ‘we met at work’? Technically both of those happened, like—”

“It’s several meet-cutes any way you slice it, for sure,” Lup agreed.

“To circle back, though, babe, I’d do some hella questionable things to see that MySpace, gotta find out all about my boy,” Taako said.

There wasn't a single angle Kravitz could choose for defense, was there. The twins' rapid fire exchange kept his head spinning. Were all siblings like this? Also, he was once again the fool; he had every reason to purge his MySpace after Angus’s blackmailing but he never made the time to do so. "Absolutely not, I refuse. My MySpace deserves to rot in some dark corner."

"Sure, sure," Lup said, completely unconcerned. Kravitz felt a countdown start to when she either found it independently or broached the topic with Angus. He really must get to a computer and scrub every trace of his old band hall videos from the web. "SoundCloud, then? Written my brother any songs yet?"

"Er, no, I've been meaning to... But I don't have a computer, and you saw how my phone is. I can always use the computer lab on campus, but my schedule makes that deeply inconvenient."

Taako gasped softly. “You could write me songs, holy shit that would be so sweet.”

Kravitz smiled and nodded dumbly. Now he was on the hook for churning out a piece deserving of Taako’s admiration. No pressure. He couldn’t bear to disappoint Taako’s adorable face with that mushy expression directed his way, but also, he’d never ever written a love song before. Cheers.

“Ohhh, he’s a goner,” Lup snorted. “Can’t believe you’re the sap in this family.”

“Hypocrite,” Taako teased.

“It’s true,” Lup stage whispered. “So, nothing else? You a Twitter guy? Reddit?”

Kravitz licked his lips and tried to recapture the conversational thread. "No, I haven't made a Twitter. What the hell is read-it?"

“Congratulations on dating an old man, ‘Ko, wow,” Lup teased, elbowing Taako.

“Ooh, what mysterious dark-eyed slab of _handsome_ is this, who talks like he’s from the nineteenth century and uses social media like it’s 1999,” Taako teased. “I get it, though, like there’s a buncha weirdos and creeps online. Why bother, y’know?”

Kravitz shrugged. “I wouldn't at all mind being more plugged in. I feel too self-conscious to enjoy browsing the internet in the computer lab, even if things like Bandcamp would ostensibly be networking for my major." However, this did not stop him from falling down the YouTube rabbithole of obscure music videos for hours. Leaving composition notes open at his elbow surely provided sufficient cover. Music student watching music. Unimpeachable.

"Oh shit," Lup said. She smacked the table. "Oh shit, you're not really on facebook."

"We established this?"

"Dude, so you haven't seen— Hang on, lemme find you a link." Lup pulled her phone out of the pocket on her drawstring pajama shorts. "How _do_ you get gigs, music man? Carrier pigeon?"

"Er. Largely, I don't. The thing with Johann, that was a surprise. It sort of snowballed from 'Please help with these cords' to 'We're on in fifteen'. I sincerely apologize for abandoning you both, it was not my intention."

"Cool, cool cool cool," Lup rapidly flicked through her phone, "if you can be more reliable in the _future,_ then I will kindly let you know that there's a community orchestra thing at the theater on Seaside. Carebear and I signed up two weeks ago—the auditions were cake, it's amateur hour, deffo not on the same level as like, Legato. Still less dorky than those Power Word Nerds. We won’t even make you wear a cape."

She held out her screen for Kravitz with the relevant facebook page open. A surprisingly somber banner reading 'Seaside Orchestra' in gold Times New Roman was superimposed on a background of maroon stage curtains. There were only a few posts, mostly announcing performances (seats limited, $15 admission for adults, $6 for children). The most recent addition declared "Please give a warm welcome to our newest members, Barry and Lup Bluejeans!", above a smiling photo of them in street clothes, hand-in-hand against a backdrop of worn theater seats.

“Lup _Bluejeans?”_ Taako said, raising an eyebrow.

Lup smacked his arm. “It’s whatever,” she said dismissively, ears firmly in the ‘it’s-not-whatever-I-_love_-this’ position.

Taako filed that away for later Twin Talk. “Babe, you should totally try out, that sounds like fun!” he encouraged.

Taken aback, Kravitz set his fork down on the edge of his plate. Taako _wanted_ him to spend time with Lup, solo? That invitation was... Well, they had every reason to presume he needed the connections, but volunteering your brand-new boyfriend to commit to playing in an orchestra with your sister was rather...hmm.

As Kravitz additionally realized he'd expected Taako to react more strongly to Lup adopting Barry's surname—after what, five weeks?— something clicked.

This was weird. All of it. Morning after breakfast with Taako's sister, functionally having met his entire family already. Their previous date being a family dinner at Angus's. The way Taako was eagerly absorbing him into his life. The waters were muddied by their work situation, but even so, none of Kravitz's previous relationships—however ill-fated—moved half this quickly. If his last boyfriend wanted him to meet his family, he would've firmly refused. Likely after adopting an obnoxious accent and immediately before dumping him for the presumption.

Watching the way Lup bit her lip, blushing happily at the photo of her and Barry, Kravitz suddenly understood that she and Taako were of a kind. They both wanted to jump feet-first into the deep end.

This was a lot. No wonder Taako feared being 'too much'. He clearly craved the stability of commitment, of being enmeshed in each other's lives. Kravitz met all of Taako's people in such rapid succession that he'd missed the truth—Taako was lonely. Needy, even.

Wasn't he, as well?

Kravitz licked his lips and replied, "You know, I think I will audition. Let me do what I can to figure out facebook, and would you please invite me to that group?" If he and Taako were on the same page, then allowing himself this should be okay. They could work together to make sure it was okay.

“Not a group, but you got it,” Lup said. “You’ll probably like the director, she’s extremely old like you but like, her body, also. You two could talk about Readers Digest or whatever it is old people like.”

Taako snorted a laugh. “I’ma have to dress up and come see one of these gigs, how swank,” he teased. “Always love getting a little fancy. And who knows? At minimum it’ll be fun, maybe even help your career.”

Taako really wanted Kravitz to have this, or something good like it. Not just because he wanted to be on Kravitz’s very famous arm or whatever (though there was that). He wanted this because it would make Kravitz happy. Krav deserved that, especially after all the work he put in. It was shitty that he didn’t really have the support he needed to go after this stuff before, but better late than never, right? 

Obviously this would give Kravitz and Lup a bunch of time to roast him behind his back, but...ideally they’d get that time one way or another, if Kravitz was sticking around. It would be fine. No—it would be excellent.

"Hell yeah," Lup triumphantly stabbed a now-cold pancake. "Now Krav, I'm gonna need you to back off the piano, that's my boy's territory. You wanna join me on the violin? I'll fight you for first chair."

Kravitz held up his hands placatingly. "No, no need for that. You can keep first chair. Violin and piano aren't the only instruments I play; I have options. It would be nice to spread my wings."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seems like the twins are trying to assimilate Kravitz. Work, festivals, and now sleepovers and orchestra? Just ask the man to move in, Taako. Or maybe not yet, because you guys have spent three times longer feuding than officially dating.


	33. Found Some Friends/who finally understand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako reconnects with an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stealth: Something I've noticed in pulling chapter titles is a sense of growth. I focus on songs from the mid-00s forward, mostly in the pop-punk genre, the kind of stuff that was formative for the Vibing boys' teenage years. Most of the music in this genre and time period is angsty or lonely or both, and Taako and Kravitz are starting to grow past a place where they're fighting or tenuous, into a place where they're secure. This week's title search just really hammered that home with a song that opens with "I remember a year ago" and then invites everyone to dance and celebrate the singer's friends and journey toward something better

Several days passed and a comfortable routine slowly fell into place. The demands of Kravitz’s intense summer schedule kept him and Taako apart in the evenings, unfortunately, but they spent every weekday morning together.

Kravitz moved the stool for the register closer to the kitchen door, so when there weren’t customers he and Taako could carry on a conversation while technically being at their stations. Taako completely spoiled him, making a delicious lunch every day and barely complaining when he read aloud from his textbooks.

Lucretia’s article was published, bringing a moderate swell of customers and orders. Even better, Brad texted Taako; there was a response to the job posting. The interview was scheduled for Wednesday—this morning.

Taako swaggered forward, all affected poise and confidence, to greet the drow woman as she walked in. She was neatly dressed, but not in a way that seemed overdone: hair pulled back and simple, professional clothes. She looked like she could go out on the shop floor or in the kitchen right now and be just fine, Taako thought approvingly.

“I’m Taako, the chef here,” he said, shifting the papers he held to his left hand and offering his right for her to shake. “Come on through to the kitchen, nice to meet you.”

She pushed a wisp of white hair out of her face and laughed. "Taako! It’s me, Ren. I didn't know you were doin' the interviews, it's good to see you. Do you remember me? From high school?"

Taako looked from the papers back to her face, trying to place her. “Sure. Right, but— High school. Uh, yeah, I remember you right there in one of the...seats. At one of the tables. In…?”

“Home ec,” Ren prompted.

“Yeah, good ol’ Ricky’s class. But you know me, some of that stuff’s a blur now, years are long.” Taako gestured Ren to follow him back to the kitchen.

“Got the interview now. Should be done in a few,” he called to Kravitz with a smile. It was so nice just having Kravitz here, right where Taako could talk to him, and for the tone of those conversations to be so happy lately.

Kravitz glanced up to return Taako’s smile. He had two textbooks and three spirals spread open across the top of a deli case. Blissful studying. "Best of luck. I'm here if you need anything." Ren waved at him as she followed Taako into the kitchen.

"We also had English together," Ren said after the door closed behind them. "I'm so glad you remember me! That stunt you pulled with Mr. Rick was nuts. I’ll never forget how much he yelled. And you whipped up a really good croque monsieur, considerin’ the ingredients we had."

“It was pretty good,” Taako laughed. There wasn’t really a spot to sit, so he set the papers on the counter and leaned on it. “My masterpiece! And the ingredients here are better, so you can imagine the fun I’m having. But let’s have a look-see at your resume, says you graduated Waverly State?” 

His old school. Wow. What might have been, if not for all that trouble. If he’d been able to focus up and follow instructions. If he hadn’t let that asshole distract him.

He dismissed the thought. That stuff could sink down to his subconscious and simmer like a goulash of moldy tomatoes and rancid beef. He, Taako, was too busy moving forward to waste time thinking about rubbish.

"Yeah, I graduated at the beginning of June," Ren said. The bow pinning her hair back bobbed as she nodded eagerly. 

“That’s good, yeah, congratulations on graduating,” Taako said.

She probably wouldn’t realize he’d been in the year above her, it would be fine. Waverly wasn’t a tiny school, what was one face? It was Taako’s face, though, pretty memorable. Curse his good looks—no, wait, just kidding, of course, Taako loved how he looked—but still.

"So um, I don't have as much kitchen experience as I'd like,” Ren continued nervously. “But I've been working for Fantasy TGI Friday's for three years, part-time. They've had me do a little waitressing, an' I've been a hostess, done prep cooking, and for a few months now I've worked the bar. That's mostly what you guys were lookin' for, right? Kind of a jack of all trades?"

Taako wrenched his focus back to the interview. “We’re definitely needing help with prep, how’s your availability? We’re gonna need evenings, weekends, the whole shebang,” he said.

Ren smiled graciously. "I’ll be happy so long as you keep my shifts regular. Y'all close a lot earlier than Friday's, too. Hey, this café thing is your baby, right? I was in here last year and they definitely didn't serve sandwiches then. To be honest, their macaroni salad was...kind of sad."

Ren thought the budding café was ‘his baby’, huh? Yeah, that was right, wasn’t it. Taako was really doing the thing. He had a good feeling about Ren.

“I’ll be honest with you, I’ve heard tales, but as luck would have it the macaroni salad was before my time here,” Taako said with a chuckle. “Regular shifts we can guarantee, and a lot of ‘em. Brad hired me on to help launch the kitchen, and things have been more appetizing ever since. If we’re gonna expand, though, hours or menu, we’ll need more hands. That brings us to interviewing you, huh?”

Ren gave a professional nod. “Sure does.”

“So you’ve got waitressing, hostessing, prep...any experience in ordering or inventory management? Kravitz—he was the nerd out front with the books—mostly handles that, but some of it’s kitchen side, too,” Taako said.

Ren shook her head. "I've done a bit, yeah, but it wasn't really in my job description. But I promise I'm a real good learner, and—hang on, I have something here for you." She unzipped her purse, an oblong, crocheted confection in blues and purples, and pulled out a tiny folded box. "I'd reckoned I could just leave it with someone for you, but you're here, so, yay! I wanted to say congrats after I saw your interview in the paper, for runnin’ this place.”

Taako took the box. "Aw, thanks, Ren, lemme see." There were macarons lined up inside, each a pale purple with creamy white filling.. "Oooh, these are tricky, too." He plucked one from the box and took a bite. "Mmm, 'zat lavender? They’re very good."

"Thank you!" Ren's face split into a wide smile. She was adorable; she had this natural, totally unselfconscious good cheer. She was happy, she wanted to make him happy, maybe spread all that happiness around to buoy a bright and sunny morning. Taako thought he really might remember her from class, though he’d spent most of his time trying to get Mr. Rick’s goat.

"Remember, you brought everyone elderflower macarons that day Mr. Rick was havin' us make plain oatmeal cookies,” Ren continued. “I hope these are half as good as those—not Rick’s cookies, they were nasty—though I couldn't for the life of me find elderflower anything."

“Oooh, I remember Rick’s cookies. They were like hockey pucks made of animal feed,” Taako agreed. “But the texture on these, gods, you really nailed it. Y’know, for the elderflower macarons, I use St. Germain liqueur. I’ve seen it on the shelf out there.”

He finished the macaron and closed up the box. “I’ma save the rest of these for later, that’ll be a nice treat. Did you have any questions about the position? I know the posting had a lot of info, but if there’s anything else you wanna know, just fire away.”

"What hours were you reckoning on? It sounded like you needed someone who could handle things alone, at least part of the time."

“If we can get you full time, we’re looking at 11 to 7:30 Wednesday through Friday, 9 to 5:30 on Saturday, and 10 to 4:30 on Sunday,” Taako explained. “Right now the Olive Street Music Festival is a big busy time, prep for that’s Wednesday into Thursday and it can get a little hectic.”

"Who else is on the team?" Ren turned on the spot, taking in the kitchen. Maybe it wasn't much, but Taako had made it his own. "Like, I mean actually workin' in the kitchen with you."

“So far this has been a one-elf show. I’m here weekdays from opening, so havin’ you would expand the kitchen’s hours. Kravitz and Carey handle the front, Brad’s in on weekends. Lup’s our bartender on festival nights, you prolly remember her too. She’s my twin.”

Ren speared him with a look. "Taako, y'mean to say I'd be your first employee? You ever been a supervisor before?"

“On paper, yeah, the first, in practice...y’know.” Taako waved a hand vaguely. Sure, he’d never been formally in charge, but he always seemed to be the guy who made it all happen. Corralling Magnus and Merle had to be harder than handling Ren. “Gotta start somewhere, though, and before I got here there was no kitchen to supervise, so we’re already headed in the right direction.”

"Well, you gonna be okay with that?" Ren gave him her signature knowing smile, the one he’d almost forgot since high school. "It's a big responsibility, bein' in charge of other people. Bein' the boss." 

Gods, she was probably picturing his teenage self, eyeliner and screenprint shirts, plaid skirts and skinny jeans and all. Gross. And now that she mentioned it—hahaha. Haha. Wow, he was not gonna be okay with being in charge. Wait, yes he was. Absolutely not.

Fuck it, it was already handled. Taako stood a little taller and put on the signature charming grin he kept in reserve for these occasions. “I’ve got this,” he said. “Making sure everyone in here has what they need to be successful is job one, no sweat, it’s already taken care of. Don’t worry about a thing.” Damn, she got in his head a little. It was fine. “Any other questions?”

Ren grinned. "Unless you're the guy to talk to about the benefits package, I don't think so."

Taako laughed. "Nooooope, that's gonna be Brad, long as you're willing to work for a rookie," he joked.

It would be _fine_, the only difference between supervising Ren and running the kitchen by himself would be the additional help. This was a _good_ thing. Taako would deal with the gnawing feeling of impostor syndrome later, or maybe never, and just ignore it.

Ren held out her hand. Her smile was still wide on her face; she didn't seem to have reservations about the job at all. And naturally she shouldn't. He had this thing in the bag. "I'm willin' to work for _you_, Taako. I'm glad you were honest with me about bein' new to this. I trust you. I think you're plenty smart enough to figure out how this whole thing should work. And I'd love to help, if that's alright with you. I'm a real big fan."

Taako shook Ren’s hand, feeling more confident already. “Well, thanks, Ren,” he replied, trying not to seem too flustered. She really was flattering, but not in a gross, fake way. Taako believed her. “Always love meeting a Taako fan. I’ll need to talk to Brad, but we’re looking to make a decision real soon, so keep your phone on, ‘kay?”

"I'm lookin' forward to hearing from you," Ren said. "Also, I’d love to escape Fantasy TGI Fridays to something that gets me home before 10 and offers benefits. But even if y'all don't pick me, I'd like if we could hang out sometime. I’ve missed you, ‘Ko.”

Hearing that nickname from someone other than Lup was weird. But Taako smiled. Ren was so nice. As he remembered it, she was nice in high school, too. They’d just fallen out of touch. “I’d like that, yeah. You know, me and Lup share an apartment. We could all hang out some night if we can jam our schedules together.”

"How's she doin', she hasn't been on her Instagram for a couple months?"

“Oh, she’s busy as hell. School and work, new boyfriend, the whole shebang,” Taako said. It was nice to catch up with Ren. She’d make a good fit here; he’d recommend her to Brad for sure.

"Do you have time to keep chatting, or should I head out before the next interviewee shows up? If there's stuff that needs doin', I can keep my hands moving while we talk," Ren offered. "I wanna hear all about how y'all've been. I feel like I never see you guys online anymore. I didn’t know Lup has a boyfriend now!"

Mm, that's right. Ren would’ve been following all the old social media Taako had to burn. And that embarrassing shit from high school, probably. Well, good to know she wasn't a stalker, if she hadn't tried to find his new stuff.

“Yeah, for sure, no one else is scheduled until later on. Online’s, mm, y’know,” Taako said vaguely, “but yeah, Lup’s dating a guy she met through mortuary school, they’re real good together. Here, lemme just,” Taako stowed the paperwork safely out of the way, “if you wanna volunteer I won’t stop ya, wash and we can get some non-disastrous pasta salad together for the case, and catch up during.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In reality, Kravitz is only staring at his schoolwork while he internally freaks out about what instrument he's gonna audition for orchestra with. Thoughts?


	34. Fog from the Past/giving me such a headache

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An 'old friend' tries to reconnect with Taako. Kravitz steps in.

Right after Ren followed Taako into the kitchen, Kravitz returned to idly flipping through his school notes. He should try harder to focus on studying before a customer came in to interrupt. Dating Taako was the best thing to happen to him in years, but hell on his work schedule. Allocating enough time to his boyfriend versus his practice was a challenge. Missed days were becoming the norm rather than the exception, and he couldn't allow that to stand.

Unfortunately, all the self-recrimination in the world couldn't keep distraction at bay. It was ironic, how mixed his feelings were about not being involved in this new round of interviews, when he'd so resented being excluded from the last.

The difference was that, this time, he trusted Taako completely. Butting out so Taako could handle everything was the right decision. He just wished he was more comfortable for having made it.

He’d still rather obsess over the interview than his impending orchestra audition, lest he blow his paycheck on a cello in a moment of weakness. There were so many instruments he wanted to play and he owned so few of them.

Well, this was probably how character was built, or something along those lines. He had a couple options outside of violin, and whoever Taako picked as assistant would be fine. The decision should hinge entirely on his approval.

Besides, if Taako made a mistake, and his chosen assistant proved to be useless, disrespectful, or undependable? Kravitz would have the joy of helping fire them.

Pursuing this train of thought resulted in the bell above the door jingling before he finished a single page. Ugh.

The prospective customer stood on the threshold like he was lost, scanning the shop. He was the most milquetoast person Kravitz had ever laid eyes on. Jeans and t-shirt, blank expression, no clue what he was doing. The guy made deliberate eye contact and just kind of stared.

Kravitz would give his eyeteeth for a low-maintenance customer who could grab what they wanted and leave in short order. "Can I help you find anything?"

“Yeah, actually,” the guy said mildly, approaching the counter, “this is the place from the article, right? With the sandwiches?”

Kravitz wanted to roll his eyes far enough back into his skull to spot nirvana. "That depends on the article to which you are referring. Is the _name_ on our _sign_ the one you expected?"

The man blinked. “No need to get like that, I’m just old friends with Taako, saw he’s working here now. Thought I’d say hi. Is he in today?”

The hair on the back of Kravitz's neck prickled. He distrusted this man instantly. But why? Taako's friends had crashed the store before, and now that Kravitz understood how little control Taako had over them, he knew they likely would again.

Was he simply jealous because of the avowed connection to Taako? That wouldn't be a good move for a supportive boyfriend.

"What's your name?" Kravitz asked cautiously. He didn't expect to recognize it; wracking his brain, he couldn't come up with any friends Taako had mentioned whose names hadn't already been matched to a face.

The guy gave a crooked grin, clearly intended to be disarming. “Oh, haha, oops yeah, you’d probably want to tell him who it is, huh? I’m Sazed. Went to culinary school with him. Taako’s a genius, best macarons I’ve ever tasted, love that guy.”

The name didn’t mean anything to Kravitz. Well, it was just and right for Taako to have fans. That checked out. It was nice that someone remembered him positively, despite whatever nebulous crisis ended Taako's education on a sour note.

If people wandering in off the streets because they were Taako’s fans was going to be a _thing,_ Brad would have to devise some sort of policy. For now, Kravitz was well familiar with existing procedure for handling those who asked after employees' schedules. "It's against store policy to give out details regarding our employees for any purpose. I can only help you with questions about our stock."

Sazed lifted his hands in the air. “Hey now, can’t let just anyone in the back, I get it. If you can go tell him a friend’s here, he’ll remember me, I’m sure,” he said with a conciliatory smile.

The truth was that Taako was busy conducting a job interview and shouldn't be interrupted. Kravitz, however, had no obligation to tell the truth. Quite the opposite. While he didn't want to make assumptions about the situation, Brad had thoroughly explained why refusing to disclose employee details kept them safe. Questions about the schedules and availability of specific employees were not to be trusted.

The more Sazed pushed, the less amenable Kravitz felt to his intrusion. "I really can't," he said, deliberately stonewalling. "And we don't have sandwiches this early. It’s not even ten thirty." Kravitz rather hoped Sazed would fuck right off.

Irritation flashed across Sazed’s face, but only for a second. “Maybe you can help me find something then,” he said after a beat. “Which of these wines do you think is good for a sort of...reconnection dinner? With lamb.”

Kravitz suppressed a sigh and trudged from behind the counter, leaving his textbooks open. "The lamb pairing is what's helpful to know. You'll want to think of it much like beef. However fatty the cut is, and what seasonings you intend to use, will affect the flavor profile a great deal. So if you would elaborate on that angle...?"

The irritation lasted longer on Sazed’s face this time. “Fairly lean, with, uh...rosemary, most likely,” he fumbled.

Kravitz gestured towards the reds. "There are some cases where it would be appropriate to go with a sweet white, but despite the lack of fat, a red would still be your best bet with rosemary. You'll want something fruity. I would suggest a Chianti Classico, or maybe a Bordeaux or Cabernet."

“Hmmm.” Sazed seemed to mull this over. “Another possibility: how about for roast chicken with garlic? I’ve got a Thirty Garlic Clove Chicken recipe that could really make an impression.”

Kravitz swiveled and changed course. "Well, that's an entirely different beast. An acidic white would be traditional, but you could make nearly anything work, from reds to rosé. Do you have a budget in mind?"

This was the part of his job Kravitz actually liked, and he still found himself wishing Sazed would just pick something and go. He said he went to Taako's school; shouldn't chefs know a thing or two about wine pairings?

Sazed meandered after Kravitz toward the racks of white wine, taking his time. “Nothing too expensive, but I want it to be nice. If it were you, what would you choose? Surely you’re the expert,” he said, glancing past Kravitz toward the kitchen door.

"Well, what I like is a good Pinot Noir," Kravitz said, trailing his fingertips across the bottles, "and that would suffice. But what would be perfect with garlic chicken is—ah, here." He held up his selection, a golden bottle topped in spring green. "Viognier. There aren't many opportunities to showcase its rich sweetness. A low acid dish is the perfect vehicle, and the notes of pear and citrus will give you a dry, refreshing finish after all that garlic. And this one's only sixteen ninety-nine."

“Cool,” Sazed said, examining the bottle. “I may have to come back for that, closer to time.” He glanced around the door again. “So, um, when do you start serving sandwiches, anyhow?”

Kravitz shrugged. "I can’t promise you that we'll be serving lunch today at all." Because he'd rather eat a sock than invite Sazed back. He plucked the bottle from Sazed's hand and replaced it on the shelf.

He was now certain that Sazed was just wasting his time as an excuse to linger in the store, in hopes of catching Taako. It boded poorly that he couldn't simply send a text to presage his visit. Kravitz seriously doubted that Taako would appreciate the surprise.

On that note, the proposed 'reconnection dinner' seemed more sinister. Kravitz tried to avoid jealousy. Setting aside that Taako was his boyfriend, and therefore the image of Sazed wining and dining him rankled intrinsically... If Sazed somehow had Taako in mind for this dinner, but didn't have the privilege of contacting him? If he was willing to invade Taako's workplace on pretense, sneakily obfuscating his motives? Then Kravitz felt wholly justified in his mistrust.

He cut a grin like a slash. "If your intention is to loiter, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Sazed looked shocked. “You—what? I’m trying to shop for wine, where do you get off, man? This is the worst service— You know what? Go get your manager, I have a complaint,” he demanded, getting louder and more heated by the moment.

"Go on, make your complaint," Kravitz said with relish. "I _am_ the manager."

Sazed’s face went from shocked to furious. _“Manager?_ You’re a cashier, there’s no way you’re in charge of anything! You insult me and lie to me—there’s no way in hell Taako works in a place like this, full of cocky asshole groupies—”

“I’m sorry,” Kravitz interrupted, his tone scathing. “Are you going somewhere with this rant? You’re welcome to the exit.”

“But he does still work here, doesn’t he?” Sazed whirled on Kravitz, searching his expression. Kravitz slowly raised one very unimpressed eyebrow. “Or else he got fired already? I wouldn’t even be surprised, after what happened at school. Did he tell you? I bet he didn’t. I bet he’s been covering his own ass. He’s a real scumbag, you know that?”

Wordlessly, Kravitz pointed to the door.

Sazed continued ranting. “He’s got you fooled, huh? He’s got you fooled, that incredible piece of—”

Kravitz stepped forward sharply. “If you don’t leave through that door in the next five seconds, I’ll help you out through the window.”

Sazed whirled and headed for the door in a huff. He stopped with his hand on the handle. “I know you don’t run this place, I’m not an idiot. And take my advice: I was gonna give Taako another chance, but if he’s got you all twisted up this way? Good riddance. Keep him. Don’t come crying to me when disaster hits.” He slammed the door behind him, setting the bell above jingling loudly.

Kravitz would've liked to be the hand slamming that door behind Sazed. Lucky for him that he fled so readily, because Kravitz also would like to be the hand that punched him full across the face. What a pathetic little tantrum.

To hear Sazed talk, it was as if he and Taako had something between them once. But his delivery was downright unhinged. Kravitz was comfortable letting the ramifications roll off his back. He didn't give one shit about Sazed's opinion of Taako.

What he wanted to know was Taako's opinion of Sazed.

First things first. Kravitz went for his phone behind the counter. Brad needed to know this happened. Taako needed to know too, as soon as his interview was over. It was Kravitz's opinion that Sazed should be formally banned from the premises. He looked forward to making his case.

He hadn't unlocked his phone yet when he spotted Angus approaching through the window. Odd that his car wasn't in the usual spot for delivery days. Maybe he was finally making use of the back room. Kravitz typed a quick message asking Brad to call him as soon as possible and went to get the door for Angus, keeping a sharp eye out for Sazed.

Angus stepped into the shop quickly, with a worried look on his face. “Is everything okay, sir? I saw Sazed outside and he looked angry, did he upset Taako?”

Kravitz shut the door behind Angus and peered out the window. _"You_ know Sazed? How? He was looking for Taako, but I threw him out. I’m hoping we were far enough away from the kitchen that Taako didn’t overhear his insane ranting.”

Angus let out a breath. “Good. I’m glad he didn’t get to Taako. I don’t know him personally, but I recognized him.” 

Kravitz nodded. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, he was a little rattled. He didn’t like that Sazed was on the loose, none the worse for wear, and fully capable of pulling this stunt again. “I'm actually glad that you're a tad late to pick up today's deliveries, so you didn't have to witness the scene he made. Angus, who is he?”

“I was driving up when he walked in. I parked in the alley so he wouldn’t see me.” Angus paused. “I don’t want to go behind Taako’s back and tell you anything he wouldn’t want me to, but Sazed is a bad person and he shouldn’t be anywhere near Taako. I’m glad he’s gone.”

"Of course," Kravitz said, somewhat disappointed. While Angus was right to be circumspect, he wanted to know what danger Sazed posed to Taako.  
Kravitz swept a loose loc away from his face, winding it around the base of his bun. He tried to calm his racing pulse and inform his body that no fight was forthcoming after all. "I don't know anything about what's going on, but he rang all sorts of alarm bells. I've already contacted Brad. He'll likely see my message when he breaks for lunch. Taako doesn't know, yet."

Was Sazed a jilted ex? An abusive ex? Gods, no wonder Taako was...somewhat insecure. Though Kravitz, personally, struggled to imagine Taako feeling any affection for Sazed. Either way... "I think he found out Taako works here from Lucretia's last article. He was claiming to be a friend; I expect that's a complete lie."

“Friends don’t act that way,” Angus agreed seriously. “I have to check with Taako for deliveries. I hope the two of you talk about this. Communication is important in relationships, isn’t it sir?”

Kravitz sighed heavily. He could only hope that Taako saw fit to confide in him. He wasn't sure if he'd earned that trust yet. "Yes, you're entirely correct. I promise that we're working on it. I'm giving the issue my utmost; I really care about him.”

“Good! You should come to the kitchen with me. Taako needs to know about Sazed, but we should stick to what happened just now. There’s no sense in derailing the whole workday—then Sazed wins, right Mr. Kravitz?”

"Yes, and I think Taako’s interviewee must still be with him. They should've wrapped up a while ago, let's check."

This was worth leaving the shop floor unmanned. Pushing open the door to the kitchen, it was immediately obvious why Ms. Mol'diira hadn't left yet. She was busily mixing quartered grape tomatoes into Taako's signature pasta salad. A practical approach to an interview, and free labor to boot. How canny of Taako.

Instead of approaching Taako and offering his customary smooch, Kravitz made space for Angus at the doorway and kept a professional distance. "Hello there, are we interrupting?"

Taako broke into a smile to see them. “Nah, we’re all done. Guys, this is Ren. Ren, that’s Kravitz, _assistant manager_, and our delivery boy, Ango.”

Ren smiled and paused stirring the pasta. “Hello.”

Kravitz waved awkwardly. Judging by the warmth in Taako’s demeanour, he may have chosen his assistant already. Kravitz was determined to like her, but this wasn't the time. 

“All good up front? Here for the deliveries?” Taako asked.

"Um, we're all good up front...now... We had a bit of an incident. I got to exercise my managerial power and throw a belligerent, would-be loiterer out. Angus came in just after he left."

“Well, that’s no fun, glad everything’s okay now,” Ren said blithely.

Taako’s ears went back against his head. He didn’t like the sound of this at all. He super didn’t like all of this going on right now, right after interviewing Ren—some first impression that was! And he super, extra didn’t like the look on either Kravitz or Angus’s face. “Just some rando or something?” he asked cautiously.

Before Kravitz could resolve his dithering, Angus spoke up. "I don't think you should worry about him coming back. Kravitz handled him, and Brad will ban him from the store when he hears about what happened. But the guy's name was Sazed."

Taako’s brain briefly blanked out, leaving only a panicky haze of _fucks._ “But he’s gone now, right?”  
Shit, Taako lived just a few blocks down and around the corner. This was terrifying, honestly. He took a deep breath. “Babe, we need to talk about him, can we— Are you free Friday night?”

That answered the question as to whether Taako would illuminate the issue. Kravitz caught Ren glancing between himself and Taako, her ears flicking in confusion. He licked his lips and said to Ren, "Um, that's me. I'm babe. Taako, I do think it's absolutely for the best that we talk. But I'm not exactly free on Friday. Would you be able to come to campus, perchance? I can come back and pick you up so you don't have to make the walk alone."

“Yeah, yeah, I can...that works. I’ll feel better if you walk me over. Thanks,” Taako said, his whole posture still radiating discomfort.

“Aw, now Taako,” Ren said, cracking a little smile. “How come you told me all about Lup’s boyfriend and didn’t even mention yours? Savin’ the best for last?”

Taako laughed, sounding just a little forced. “Yeah. Exactly.” He smiled at Kravitz; it was true, he was the best, though that didn’t dispel the horrific feelings the last few minutes had brought on. “We’re dating, everything’s aboveboard, Brad knows, all of it.”

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Kravitz said. How gracious of Ren, to help Taako deflect from his clear destress. If he couldn't address the problem of Sazed constructively yet, for lack of information, then reminding Taako he was treasured was the next best thing.

He might like her already. Actually like her, and not just out of obligation. Anyone who could make Taako laugh after an upset like this won a gold star in his book.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Angus said. "I'm usually here twice a week."

“Speaking of, you probably want those deliveries, huh Ango? I’ve got ‘em ready,” Taako said, pulling the cooler out so it’d be easier to reach.

“I should probably get out of your hair,” Ren said. “But I’ll look forward to hearing from you—not just about the job, either. Don’t be a stranger! It was great meeting y’all, hopefully I’ll be back.” She held up crossed fingers.

Taako smiled. Ren was good people; he was definitely gonna recommend her to Brad. “Alright. I’ve got your number, but you probably have my old one. I’ll text you and let you know it’s me. Be seein’ you.”

Kravitz ushered Ren out the door to the shop floor and returned to the kitchen. He waited for Angus to step into the back storage room, where they’d taken to storing boxes for delivery after the influx of orders.

Before Taako could follow Angus, Kravitz gently placed a hand on his shoulder and pressed a reassuring kiss to his forehead. He murmured, "I want to know if you're going to be alright, love."

Taako linked their hands and pressed his face into Kravitz’s neck. That familiar scent calmed the panicky animal part of his brain like nothing else. Finally, he was starting to relax.

Bless Kravitz, honestly. Not many men would just wander in and announce ‘met your stalker, he gave me bad vibes so I told him to go fuck himself’.

“I’ll be okay,” Taako belatedly answered. “Thanks for getting rid of Sazed. I promise I’ll tell you what happened. I should’ve before, I just...I don’t know. Wasn’t ready, I guess. And it wasn’t exactly a pressing issue until fifteen fuckin’ minutes ago.”

Kravitz enfolded Taako in a hug. Sazed said he could keep Taako and deal with whatever trouble came? Kravitz thought that yes, he would. "I, of all people, should sympathize with the desire to clamp teeth around difficult revelations. Tell me only what you’re comfortable with, at your leisure.” 

Taako melted a little. “Fuck, you really are the best. That’s— Thanks. Babe.”

“All I need to know is enough to pass Brad a rough idea and frame what sort of caution is needed. I want to keep you safe."

Taako nodded against Kravitz’s shoulder. “For Brad...yeah, basically, Sazed harassed me pretty bad for a while in school and just after. He’s never done anything outright violent, but like—if you crossed him, I assume he had a fit? Like that. Brad banning him would be real good.”

“He absolutely will, to start with. Sazed won’t set foot in here again.”

“I honestly wanna believe that. He was always the two-faced sort. He mostly tries smarm, then throws tantrums when he’s caught at it. He’s not the kind of guy to get into fights; he’s the kind to spread rumors because he’s afraid of getting called on his bullshit. I’ll tell you the rest on Friday, but that’s who he is.”

Kravitz stroked the hair under Taako's ponytail, cradling the back of his neck. "It's good to hear that he may not be violent. Though I would like to see him try something with Carey up front. She could thrash him, easy.”

Taako pulled back to look Kravitz in the face. “Was he awful? He must’ve been, to get thrown out, huh?”

“Ultimately all he did was launch into a tantrum, but what really crossed the line was that, after I refused to confirm your hours, he tried to manipulate me into letting him linger so he could catch you in the store. That raised all sorts of alarm bells.”

Taako made a soft little sound of agreement. His heart was starting to slow to its normal pace. Kravitz was with him. He was okay and would be okay going forward, too. “Yeah, that’s Sazed. I’d love to see Carey just fucking annihilate him, we could sell tickets. Brad’s got insurance on this place, right?”

Kravitz chuckled. “I think you should tell Lup this happened immediately. We can work out a way that you don't have to walk home by yourself this afternoon."

“I’ll text Lup in a minute. She could also kick his ass. She offered to before, matter of fact. I super don’t wanna walk home alone, but I thiiiiink she’s got a gap between class and work today, I’ll check.”

Taako laid his head on Kravitz’s shoulder, just for a moment. “Thanks for being so sweet. I’m way better knowing you’re out there. You gotta be careful, my man, just in case he comes back.”

"Honestly, now that I know what a creep he is, I would take the opportunity to really cut loose and give him what for. But you're right, I shouldn't court trouble. I'll exercise due caution."

“Good. I don’t want you to get hurt. I care about you.” Taako squeezed Kravitz back. He took a breath. “I have so much prep for the festival, gods. Can you make sure Brad says something to the festival people too? I’m still gonna blow it out of the water, you know this.” He smiled a little.

"That's an excellent idea. But if you want to sit this one out, I'll happily cover for you."

Taako chuckled. “Babe, it’s food, I can’t just turn you loose without guidance,” he teased. “Besides, Sazed doesn’t deserve the satisfaction. You’ll be there, and Lup. I’ll be okay.”

"We'll make it okay." Kravitz kissed Taako, properly this time, even though there was no way that Angus hadn't noticed what they were up to. It was very kind of him to give them privacy. "Let me find the dolly and I'll come help load Angus's car as soon as I've verified that the storefront is secure. I'll text Carey too, let her know to keep an eye out."

Taako fell into their next kiss. Gods, what had he done to deserve Kravitz? Not much, kinda the opposite for a while there, which made it maybe all the sweeter. “Okay. I’ll get back to work in here and text Lup. If she can’t come then I’ll have Ango pick me up here and just go straight to his place. Tonight’s meal prep night.”

"Alright, good, tell Angus I said thank you. In an hour or so I'll pop back in to check on you, hopefully with an update from Brad. I—"

Kravitz hesitated. He wanted to say that singular, decisive phrase. He loved Taako more than breathing. But he refused to taint a moment of romantic confession by association with Sazed. "I look forward to Friday. You don't even have to tell me anything more, it would just be nice to have you visit. If you’re okay to hang out while I practice. I have another exam next week; summer semesters are paced brutally."

“I know, babe, you work so hard all the time. I won’t bug you too much. It’s always nice to listen to you practice, y’know? Afterward, if you’re not too tired, we can hang out a little. Just watch TV or something maybe. We kinda deserve it.” Taako planted a kiss on Kravitz’s cheek. “I’ll go tell Angus you’re on your way and check that back lock.”

"See you soon," Kravitz said. He lingered on his way out of the kitchen, brushing his fingertips over his cheek to feel the warmth left by Taako's lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at all that support! Taako's got some good people in his life.
> 
> Kravitz is loading that to-do list up. School, work, and he's still gotta pick an instrument for orchestra, find a perfect moment to confess his love for Taako, and now maybe beat up a guy named Sazed? He sure doesn't make things easy on himself.


	35. Break Down These Walls/take off your shirt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kravitz and Taako demonstrate that they are too cool (gay) for school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We do tumblr promos for these chapters, and sometimes end up writing entire new snippets for them... See this week's [here](https://tansyfandom.tumblr.com/post/622842008996888576/vibing-and-keeping-it-tight-chapter-35)

Strolling through campus arm-in-arm with Taako fulfilled several of Kravitz's tamer fantasies. Taako's presence transfigured the drudgery of routine into elation. It was like the afternoon was dipped in honey.

The deep shadows cast by the lecture halls provided cover from the radiant summer sun. The central fountain of the parkway was bone-dry to conserve water, but the tall sycamores along the lawn managed to capture some small amount of humidity. The breeze funneled between the stocky buildings to blast cold air down the branching sidewalks.

Odds were that none of the students they passed on the quad had seen Kravitz smile before. Normally he was too wrapped up in work to enjoy the moment. But knowing that Taako was taking it all in at his side made the familiar new. He wasn't even torn up over leaving his last class half an hour early to fetch Taako from the store. His attendance was otherwise impeccable; he'd earned some leeway.

Brad readily agreed to ban Sazed from the shop. There had been no sign of him since Wednesday. Taako may never have to deal with him again. Still, Kravitz couldn't help but scan everyone else walking through campus, just in case. While he was confident that he and Taako could handle Sazed between them, it didn’t hurt to be cautious.

"Oh, look—" he pointed to a familiar figure approaching from the opposite direction. Johann was again wearing the squashy, feathered cap from his stage costume. It didn't look any better with jeans than pantaloons. (The music students all had their quirks. Like how Kravitz wore black four days out of five, in 80 degree heat.) "Taako, do you remember Johann?"

"'Sup, Kravitz." Johann paused on the sidewalk. He was carrying his violin case, likely headed off-campus. "Happy Friday night, I guess. Who's your friend?"

"This is my boyfriend, Taako." Kravitz grinned broadly.

Johann nodded. "Oh, cool. Nice to meet you."

Taako inclined his head. “Nice to meet you too. I don’t think we really got a chance to say hi before. It was, uh… Busy.” He smiled a little awkwardly.

“Kravitz already told me he accidentally ditched you at work. I didn’t mean to steal him, sorry about that.” Johann said. “It figures that something had to go wrong that evening to make up for how killer our performance was.”

“Pffft, it’s no biggie,” Taako snorted. “Lighten up, my man. The bright side is that Kravitz owes me apologies forever.”

“I certainly do,” Kravitz agreed gamely. “Taako, my dearest, I am very very sorry. I throw myself upon your tender mercies.”

“See!” Taako clapped. “I love this song. This guy is the best, did you know that?”

Johann almost smiled, which for him was a lot. “What’re you two up to? Going on a date or something?”

Kravitz shook his head. His hair was loose today, left draping over his shoulders. (He couldn’t keep it tied up all the time; that was how breakage happened.) "No, I'm in comp four this summer, and our witch of a professor decided to cram six performance exams into two months. Taako has graciously agreed to accompany me to practice."

"Are you serious?" Johann barked a laugh like his throat had largely forgotten how to form the sound. "It's Friday. You have the whole weekend to practice, but you're dragging your boyfriend to the stockade? Geez, and I thought I was a downer on dates."

Kravitz spluttered. "Taako, don't listen to him. That's just a funny little nickname we have for the music hall. It's a perfectly nice place."

Taako stifled a laugh. “You call it the stockade? Is there something I don’t know? You gonna lock me away and keep me forever for being too cute, handsome?” 

Hanging onto Kravitz’s arm would never get old. Taako’s friends were all huggers to various degrees, and usually he wasn’t into it, but he was loving every bit of affection from Kravitz. It gave him a feeling that was hard to describe, especially when Kravitz said “my boyfriend” that way.

Shown off. That’s what it was, Taako loved showing off—and he deserved to—but he especially loved Kravitz showing _him_ off, like he was some incredible beauty and talent and partner. Like Kravitz was proud of him. Taako was getting damn close to believing that all the way, and not just as a façade.

"Locking you up and keeping you forever is a tempting proposition," Kravitz teased, pulling Taako into his side to drop a kiss in his hair. Taako laughed delightedly. "Perhaps we could do exactly that for the evening."

"You'd get hungry eventually," Johann said. "There's a vending machine, but it kind of sucks. Anyway, me and the band were gonna hang out at Avi's. Hash out some new tunes. It was nice meeting you, Taako. You should come watch next time Kravitz jams with us."

Kravitz grinned broadly. Next time they jammed? There was going to be a next time? Playing with Johann and the bugbears was bound to be a lot more fun when they weren’t scrambling to put on a performance. Maybe, if the community orchestra worked out as well, he'd have no shortage of people to play with. That made for a very nice change. "I'm glad we ran into you. It was high time you met my boyfriend."

“Charmed, likewise,” Taako said. He put a hand on Kravitz’s chest and reached up to plant a return kiss on his cheek, not fully looking at Johann as he answered. “Hanging sometime sounds like fun. Gotta support my man here, y’know? Good to meet you too.”

Johann regarded the two of them. “Wow, you guys are brand new and sappy, huh? Congrats. Alright, see you later.” He headed off down the sidewalk.

Taako continued forward with Kravitz. “I was serious about that, babe, let me know when and I’ll come see you. It sounds like the bomb.”

"I absolutely will. My orchestra audition is just after my exam, because, as it turns out, Lup is difficult to say no to. I may need some pointers there.”

“Yeah, good luck on that. Lemme know if you figure it out, my man. She’s my babiest sister, I only say no to her if there’s a dire need.”

Kravitz ushered Taako past the old math building, now mostly used as a dumping ground for the less-favored classes of sundry departments because its air conditioner barely worked, and to the steps of the music hall.

The Stockade, or, as the plaque on the granite newel at the staircase proclaimed, the Regina Raven Letherna Center for Music, was one of the many buildings that had been erected by the followers of a specific deity.

The congregation of Corellon contributed funding to what seemed like half the departments. Their achievements included the performing arts center, the lecture hall for the school of liberal arts, and the arcane labs. Thus, they had a lot of say in the campus's general aesthetic. Most buildings were bright and modern, with facades of massive glass windows that shone blue and gold.

The Letherna Center was not one of these bright buildings. The Raven Queen's congregation had their own idea of aesthetic. That idea featured rather a lot of skeletons.

The music hall was a towering edifice of worn marble. The portal was a massive, oaken set of doors—that always stuck in humid weather—centered in a large arch honeycombed with elaborate carvings and sculpture. There were myriad grinning skulls with empty eyesockets. Ravens, too, which stuck out against the ivory-grey of the rest of the tympanum; all the marble figures were supposed to be painted, but were only retouched every decade or so. Most of the figures were quickly worn bone-white.

The ravens seemed to stare as Taako and Kravitz climbed the steps. Whatever pigment was used for those dark, glossy feathers withstood the test of time. They could’ve been finished yesterday, or they could be living creatures, frozen on their perches. Meanwhile, the paint for the skulls showed no such resilience, and ominous, rusty streaks ran down every socket like thick tears.

Kravitz shoved his shoulder against the door, right over the magenta flyer announcing that the third floor bathrooms were closed for deep cleaning, and forced it open. The hinges were eerily silent. "Well, this is it."

Leave it to Kravitz to take weird goth shit in stride. Taako looked around warily. At first impression, his assumptions were right on one front: definitely a private school. This place was way different from his culinary school, much more...yeah, basically, much _more_. A _lot._ The hall looked old and ornate. Taako’s ears flicked from the echoes as Kravitz closed the door behind them, banishing the sunlight that poured in with their entry.

“Wow,” Taako said, blinking a little while his eyes adjusted. “This is...this sure something, huh? I love it, it’s huge, imagine just looking at every inch of a place and putting art on it, that’s rad. You get to practice in here all the time?”

"Well, this is just the nave. No one really spends time here. It's always empty in about ten minutes after classes let out," Kravitz said with a soft laugh. "Though it is something, isn't it."

The open space in the center of the building was cluttered with the normal trappings of student life: plasticky, rectangular padded benches that were wiped down with Lysol; a line of paper recycling bins along the wall; various aluminum stands displaying notices. 

The cathedralic vault of the ceiling formed in ribs above their heads. It vanished high above the dim lamps along the walls, with their dangling cords that suggest they were added as an afterthought to the architecture. Absurd, that. Kravitz was fairly certain Wikipedia said this all was built in the 1950s, despite looking hundreds of years old. Likely just the influence of grime. Delicately sculpted work was impossible to power wash, he supposed.

"We've got to pop by my advisor's for my violin anyway, so I'll give you the tour," Kravitz said, leading Taako past open doors that revealed rows and rows of seats with tiny half-desks on their arms. "Those are the main lecture halls. That's the wrong staircase; it leads to the upper classrooms, which are more for graduate students. There's a rose window around here somewhere, and that's breathtaking, but I think it's on the east side of the building. I'm told there used to be a fountain, but it leaked, so they tore the whole thing out. That's the right staircase; all the offices are just up here."

“Man, this really is your aesthetic, huh.” Taako could see how growing up around the type of folks who built this place would produce his spooky goth boy. “What's your violin doing in your advisor's office? You've got a way to get in after hours?”

"Yes, there aren't any lockers in this building. I think they try to avoid attaching things to the walls, since they're marble. But don't quote me on that; I don't actually know how architecture works." Kravitz led the way past the sole vending machine, placed outside the door leading to the TA's cubicle farm for their convenience. Faintly, they could hear someone typing away in there, but the building was largely deserted.

They rounded a corner into a third-floor corridor lined with towering windows. The sconces along the wall were dark. The afternoon sun should've provided sufficient lighting alone, but somehow the buttresses overhanging the windows dimmed it more than seemed possible. It was no matter: elves had darkvision, and Kravitz could find his way with his eyes shut.

Passing one shuttered office after another, they eventually reached the very last door, where the hall dead-ended. "Here we go," Kravitz said. He produced an honest-to-gods silver key ring from his hoodie pocket and turned the lock to admit Taako.

The office was breathtaking. Kravitz’s advisor had pulled the dusky, velvet curtains back, giving herself a perfect view of the parkway through diamond-paned windows topped with stained glass panels. Rich wood, so dark it was nearly black, formed shelves that lined the walls and ceiling. A chandelier dangled above them. The desk was a massive block of wood with a felted top, obviously not designed to ever be moved again. The chair might as well be a throne for how ornate it was.

Leatherbound books, curios, plaques, and the like lined the bookshelves. A fair few of the curios featured skull motifs. Kravitz wouldn't bet that none of them were actually skulls, but he'd never looked closely.

Tako gaped. Kravitz gestured at the throne. "I think she's got seniority," he said, by way of explanation for how over-the-top her office was. "Pretty, isn't it? I'd fancy a desk like this."

“Are you kidding? Oh my gods, look at this place, imagine.” Taako stepped forward and ran his hands over the smooth wood of the desk. He surveyed the shelves and the heavy drapes, then turned back to Kravitz. “One day, babe, it’ll just take work, right? And time? And a lot of luck I guess, but maybe more work will do instead.” He grinned. “If you had a big ol’ desk like this— Fuck, babe, you can’t just put an image like that in my head.”

Kravitz gently shut the door behind them. With a sly grin, he approached Taako at the desk. "Oh? And what image is this?"

“The— You know, with the big desk and you’re working—and then I interrupt you and I’m very cute and—it’s harder to say it than it is to do!” Taako protested, definitely starting to blush.

That was new. Usually he had no trouble describing the filthiest fantasies to Kravitz over text, but this was different. This was Kravitz’s territory—well, sort of—and it was tangible, and if Kravitz was gonna come toward him that way, with the door shut, alone... “I’m just saying, an office like this, a desk like that? I could fit on it or under it, a hundred different ways.” Taako recovered some confidence and returned Kravitz’s grin.

"There's the dream. I need to find musical success so I can afford this office, simply to have you like _that."_ Kravitz's expression sharpened. Taako was quite fetching when on his back foot. The blush was downright adorable. He crowded Taako against the desk and placed arms around his waist. Taako made an involuntary sound that was very nearly a squeak. "Would you care to sit down for me, love?"

_Yes, please!_ Taako hopped onto the desk and reached up to wrap his arms around Kravitz’s shoulders. “Right here? Just like this for you, handsome?” he breathed.

Kravitz kissed him approvingly. "Yes, just like this," he said, pressing his thighs flush to the desk, between Taako's open legs. "We can explore having you under the desk later. I'm quite keen on that." He leaned into the hug, trailing his lips from Taako's jawline to his neck.

Taako spread his legs wider. They could? Oh, they _could,_ as far as he was concerned. He liked this, Kravitz wanting him and then doing— Well, stopping there, he liked being wanted, first of all. And that Kravitz was ready to make out with him, right here in his advisor’s office—that took his breath away.

Taako tilted his head back, letting Kravitz kiss him, not caring at all about whether he’d leave a trail of marks. Who was gonna judge, the assistant manager at work? That guy seemed chill these days. “Krav—gods, yes, handsome man.”

"You should see how gorgeous you are," Kravitz said into Taako's neck. He tucked his hands beneath Taako's shirt and stroked his flanks, reveling in the way his breath caught and heaved. Capturing his mouth in a kiss, Kravitz slipped his tongue between Taako's lips. He didn't imagine them getting very far in his advisor's office, but this much was tantalizing. And there was always later.

Taako melted into the kiss with a little noise of pleasure. He was all in this moment, hanging on Kravitz’s touch and his lips and his tongue. Gods, was Kravitz good with that tongue. Taako ran his hands over Kravitz’s shoulder blades, wishing for more, wishing for skin under fingertips, but wanting this too much to stop.

Kravitz thought he was gorgeous. Kravitz liked to kiss him and touch him and console him when he was upset, and treated him like a treasure. It was mind boggling and wonderful. Taako kissed back fervently, knowing they could be caught but not able to bring himself to care.

He was so good in Kravitz's arms. Warmer than sunshine, intoxicatingly, breathtakingly handsome from head to toe. Kravitz's heart was bursting for him.

Kravitz loved his lopsided smile, the little gap between his teeth, the freckles that dotted his cheeks and shoulders. Kravitz rucked Taako’s shirt up and splayed fingers across his back, tracing the dents along his spine. "I'd like to have you over a desk," he said. "Something as grand as this would suit. Laying you across this naked would make a gorgeous tableau, don't you think?"

Taako was blushing again, held close in Kravitz’s arms and reveling in his words. “Yes, fuck yes. Wanna be laid out all pretty for you and see you—gods, babe, I want this off, can I?” He tugged at Kravitz’s shirt. Hoodie, shirt, probably old man undershirt, it wasn’t fair to have all that cloth between them.

"Go right ahead." Kravitz gamely lifted his arms for Taako. They were getting carried away, but another minute of this couldn't hurt, and he never felt like telling Taako no. "It's after five on a summer Friday, there's little chance anyone will come this way. Odds are that there's hardly anyone left in the building."

“Good,” Taako answered, peeling all of Kravitz’s layers up to expose his bare, dark chest, skin more gorgeous and rich than polished mahogany. “Wanna see you, sexy man, wanna run my hands all down your back.”

Kravitz stooped to let Taako pull his clothing over his head. He helped cast aside the hoodie and shirt before enveloping Taako in a hug against his bare chest. He kissed him, slow and dirty, intent on leaving him shaking.

Taako’s hips involuntarily bucked, searching for friction. Oh this—this kiss wasn’t just a sweet little thing like Kravitz sometimes gave him, this one was laced with want and intent. He was putty in Kravitz’s hands. He leaned into it, feeling muscles under the skin of Kravitz’s back as he touched everywhere he could reach.

He was melting, flying, falling all at once. He pressed his hips into Kravitz’s as well as he could. Kravitz wasn't fully hard, not yet, but he ground his hips into Taako's. He kissed him passionately and bent him backwards over the desk, encircled arms keeping Taako from falling.

From the corridor, the clack-clack of heels on marble sounded. They froze.

Taako’s ears flicked. “Shit,” he hissed, “someone’s out there!” Oh, fuck, when he thought he didn’t care if they got caught— he maybe did? Actually? After all?

From the way the clacking sounded, each hard strike progressively growing louder, they were headed towards the office. The corridor was a dead end; there was only one person it could be. And Taako was debauched on her desk, with Kravitz hovering shirtless over him.

"Oh, my lady," Kravitz whispered. "We have to hide now. Please." He scrambled to help Taako sit up and pulled back.

Taako hopped down from the desk and snatched Kravitz’s shirt and hoodie off the floor. “Where do we go?” he whispered frantically, looking wildly around the room. He didn’t know this place, he’d barely seen it before they’d started making out. He couldn’t cast Invisibility on both Kravitz and himself, and while he was deffo down for hiding from Krav’s advisor on an entirely different plane of existence, Blink only lasted a minute.

"The desk, quick!" Kravitz whispered, manhandling Taako towards the throne-like seat. "There's nowhere else."

A faint tap sounded from the door. A key, being slid into the lock. When it didn't turn—because Kravitz left the door unlocked—the doorknob shook.

They clambered under the desk, holding their breath as the door opened. Taako reached out and grabbed Kravitz’s hand, his other still holding half of Kravitz’s clothing.

The space under the desk was not generous enough for two adult men. They were a tangle of limbs squeezed into a box. Kravitz was more than half in Taako's lap, with his chest flattening Taako's ear against his face. This was not the sexy fantasy they’d discussed.

Softly, the door creaked open. Heels click-clacked in their implacable approach. Kravitz pressed Taako as far back under the desk as they could go and began praying. If she sat down, her knees would go directly into his bare back, and he'd expire of embarrassment.

There were momentary soft sounds as things were shifted about. Kravitz rather thought he was going to faint and leave Taako here alone to endure this. His pulse rushed fantastically.

Taako tried to stroke his back soothingly—and silently. If worse came to worst they’d just...explain why a non-student was crammed under a senior faculty member’s desk, having apparently stolen half the clothing off a student. Chill, reasonable. He squeezed Kravitz’s hand reassuringly, listening to what sounded like someone leafing through a stack of paper—or mail, maybe?—to find a particular piece.

Several long, harrowing moments passed. A jet-black, heeled boot verged into view. She was close enough that Kravitz imagined he could hear her breathing. Goddess, this was how he died, wasn’t it.

The boot withdrew. A drawer was rifled through. She stepped towards the bookcase. Something was moved, the footsteps retreated, the door was opened, and then shut.

The click-clack of heels faded away. Taako and Kravitz sagged even more heavily into each other.

Taako held perfectly still for another thirty seconds, then whispered, “I think she’s gone...babe, your elbow, you gotta— There we go.”

"Sorry," Kravitz whispered. He oozed halfway out from under the desk and laid across the marble floor, boneless, his head in Taako's lap and his knees pressed into the chair. "Taako. I think I'm having a stroke. I'm leaving everything to you."

Taako laughed and pet Kravitz’s beleaguered face. “Babe, don’t, that would be so fucking expensive of you. I’d make Lup and Barry do your funeral— Nope, you gotta stay with me, for smooch reasons.”

"Okay, yes, that's a fantastic counterargument." Kravitz said. The embarrassment heating his skin was so intense that stone felt blessedly cool against his back instead of freezing.

Unfortunately, Taako's mouth was too far away to kiss. Kravitz seized Taako’s hand that held his clothing by the wrist and drew it to blanket his head.

Taako laughed again. “Babe. Babe, it’s okay, she’s gone. We gotta get your violin— Well, first off that’s not how you wear a shirt, let’s start by getting you dressed.”

"Yes, okay, you're right," Kravitz mumbled. He dropped Taako's wrist, gathered his clothing, and sat up to dress, scooting aside so Taako could escape past him. "It's time to start making better decisions. Are you still up for visiting my practice room? If you’d rather flee campus, I can't say I blame you."

Taako briefly considered this as he crawled out from under the desk. It was kind of a non-starter; he owed Kravitz an explanation for the whole Sazed incident, if only for safety’s sake. It was super tempting to just run off and forget about it though. “Practice room’s still good with me, we still gotta… I still have to tell you that thing. About. You know. Sazed.”

Kravitz finished pulling his hoodie down over his head and gently freed his hair from the collar. He leveled a serious look at Taako. "Only if you want to. Of course I want to know; I care dearly for you, and his actions make me worried for your safety. But that doesn't mean you owe me an explanation."

Taako took a breath and nodded slowly. Kravitz...might be right, actually. “Yeah...yeah. But I think I actually want to tell you. It kinda already affected you? And he’s only banned from the store, not the world, so it’s probably best you hear what all he did so we’re on the same page. I don’t even know what kinda BS he tried to sell you.”

Kravitz offered a hand to help Taako to his feet. "I'm certain it was _pure_ BS. Unadulterated. But I'll wait till we’re safely ensconced in privacy to rehash that mess. I dearly wish I could ban Sazed from the world— Hang on, doesn't Barry work on a body farm?"

Taako laughed. It was a little dark, but that did make him feel a little better. “I swear I’m not a controlling ass, but you’re not allowed to go to prison, I _just_ got you.” He leaned in to kiss Kravitz’s cheek. “Even if we are somewhere called the stockade.”

"Let me grab my violin and I'll show you why that appellation was deemed appropriate." Kravitz swept over to the leftmost curtain and pulled it away from the wall. "Oh. Uh-oh. It's not here. It should be here, against this bookcase.”

“D’you think your advisor moved it someplace?” Taako asked. He looked around the room, anywhere a violin could’ve gone. “Maybe up and out of the way— Is there a closet or something that she might’ve stuck it in?”

"I've never seen evidence of a closet," Kravitz said. He bent around the chair, flipped the other curtain up, and eyed the bookcases for secret passages. He wouldn't put it past his advisor. He envied her commitment to gothic aestheticism. Certainly she pursued it beyond convenience; her desk had an actual inkwell, and no computer in sight.

Logically, he knew this room had to be wired for electricity, but it sure didn't look like it. The other offices all had modern locks with card reads, and here she was with a silver, antique knob and lock. Kravitz turned wide eyes towards Taako. "It occurs to me that she may have locked us in."

Taako laughed nervously. “Sh-she what? That’s gotta be against some typa fire code or something, right? Surely she wouldn’t— If she did, we have to get our nasty, sexy revenge in here, natch, but also we’ll get hungry,” he protested. He cautiously moved toward the door to try it, scanning for the violin along the way.

"I'm not going to fuck you on this desk. I'll be too busy having an anxiety meltdown," Kravitz said. "Try the door, please."

Taako turned the handle and let out a sigh. “It’s not locked, fuck that’s a relief.” He started to open the door to look out into the hall, then stopped and glanced down. “Babe, c’mere,” he said with amusement.

Kravitz leapt for the door. "Why wouldn't she lock— Oh. Oh dear."

His violin case was neatly laid on its side, the strap folded atop it. Mechanically, he crowded Taako into the corridor. He shut the door behind them. "Well. My next conversation with her is bound to be awkward. Let's escape now, please."

“Oh my gods, handsome,” Taako chuckled. “I can’t imagine—yikes.” Well, at least maybe Taako’s confessions wouldn’t be the only awkward thing tonight. Kravitz fumbled for his key ring and swiftly locked up. “You know what, though? That was still super hot.”

"Really." Kravitz gave Taako a sly glance. "Let's revisit that in a more appropriate venue. Or an even less one, depending on how you’re feeling once you see my practice room. What I can say for it is that it's private and unmonitored. Right this way."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter, from the RQ's perspective:
> 
> **RQ:** oh fuck. oh my me, what the everloving shit do they think they're doing  
**Istus:** LOL. better hurry, dear, if you want to avert fate ;-)  
**RQ:** /runs across campus and up two flights of stairs in heels/  
**RQ:** /bursts in, too late, Krav's shirt is already off/  
**RQ:** La dee dah, just walking around my office, walking around and moving things, NOT going to look under my desk, la la la, how much time do I have to spend looming in here to put the fear of ME into Kravitz so he never slips his boy tongue in my office again


	36. Change You Like a Remix/raise you like a phoenix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kravitz and Taako talk about hard things in life. Taako falls a little bit more in love.

Kravitz led Taako back down the stairs and through the nave, then past a counter with a big water cooler and pamphlets on campus activities. A heavy door sat tucked into a corner. Kravitz first swiped his student badge, then out came the key ring again.

The door groaned open to reveal a stone staircase leading down into darkness. Kravitz flicked a lightswitch on the wall. Remarkably, it did not help beyond illuminating a safety rail that looked like an afterthought. Cold, humid air gusted upwards. Taako’s ears tucked back against his head.

The practice rooms were absolutely the most cursed place on campus. They had a solid reputation for being haunted. Students had filmed a variety of ghost-hunting specials down here, over the years. Urban legend exposés, that sort of thing. The music history professor played a selection of such clips for his classes every semester, and Kravitz had later scoured YouTube to rapturously watch as many as he could find. "Home sweet home. What do you think, ready to go down?"

“Babe, are you for real?” Taako asked, slightly horrified. “This is how I die, you can see that, right? How many murdered students are haunting this place? It’s gotta be like twelve, minimum.” He snatched up Kravitz’s hand. “Don’t you dare prank me in here. I _will_ scream.”

"The official ghost tally depends on whether you consider the accounts cumulatively, or view them more as iterations of the same few tales," Kravitz said with a grin. He squeezed Taako's hand, overtly enjoying himself, and started leading him downwards. "There's a Youtube playlist I can link you.”

Taako rolled his eyes. “A Youtube playlist, are you for real? Okay then, that makes it alright, glad the ghost murders are _documented.”_

Kravitz laughed. “And the theater students love this staircase for projects. I think it's seen about forty versions of Hamlet. Some of them aren’t even terrible. In my opinion, the roof would make for a better rampart, but no one's allowed up there. Safety first!"

“Oh yeah, _’safety first’_, that’s why people delve down to the spook zone. I should’ve figured that you spend half your time somewhere haunted as shit. Between you and Lup and Barold, I swear to every god, I’m surrounded by ghouls.”

"Maybe you attract a certain kind of company?" Kravitz joked as they reached the bottom landing and stepped out into the south hall. The cinderblock basement was cut through by four corridors forming a rectangle, each side bordered by practice rooms. A dehumidifier on the floor, likely responsible for at least thirty percent of all weird noises plaguing this place, did its best to keep the worn carpet from molding. The dim fluorescent lights overhead were another twenty percent of the ominous ambience. The rest would be provided by students during normal hours of operation.

The doors were all heavy and black, with tiny square windows and numbered plaques by the knobs. The cells on their left, lining the basement's perimeter, were cramped in the utmost. Kravitz had sprung for one of the few central rooms, which featured exactly enough floorspace for an upright piano and barely a scant inch more. He swiped his badge to unlock number thirteen. "By square footage, I think this must be the most expensive real estate in the city. Are you impressed?"

Taako took in the tiny room. A weird, plastic chair butted up against the piano bench. The only light was a bare bulb hanging from a string, like in cartoons. He half-expected to spot a harmonica and a tin cup for rattling bars. “This is a fuckin’ prison cell, homie. I see why they call it the stockade.” It wasn’t as creepy as it could be, he supposed. The piano was a nice touch, decor-wise.

He squeezed past the bench and slouched into the chair, only to pitch too far forward and sit back up again. “The piano’s swank, but this chair’s shit, babe. You gotta tell facilities that the seat’s fucked.” By sheer force of will, he managed to achieve a semi-comfortable slump.

Kravitz closed the door. He turned around to set his things under the bench and snorted. Leave it to Taako to find a way to slouch in a chair specially engineered to prevent exactly that. "That's a posture chair. I think the person who has this room in the morning must be a vocalist." Personally, Kravitz hated the thing. He took his customary seat on the piano bench and swiveled to face Taako, their knees nearly touching.

“Is that why it’s trying to dump me on the ground? You sure it’ll hold?” Taako asked suspiciously, getting up to examine the chair. He couldn’t see any noticeably broken pieces. In fact, the whole frame seemed sturdy, barely even a wiggle or squeak. The overall configuration just sucked, comfort-wise.

"It was trying to dump you on the ground because you weren't sitting up straight like a good boy," Kravitz said, openly amused. 

Taako sat back down. He folded his hands in his lap and looked at Kravitz coyly. He shifted his weight forward, feet on the floor, upright, his back not touching the chair’s back—yeah, okay, that was maybe the only way this thing wasn’t gonna betray him. “Like this?” he asked, snorting back a giggle. “I gotta sit up all still and pretty for—_snnnk_—fuckin’ tea time, shit I can’t—“ he dissolved into laughter. “Am I your good boy now, Krav?”

Kravitz knocked their knees together as he laughed along. "I wish I could get into this roleplay, but you've made it ridiculous. You can join me on the bench if you'd like."

Taako chuckled. “Yeah, that’s probably better.” He got up and slid onto the bench next to Kravitz, who immediately threw an arm around his waist. Taako giggled as Kravitz kissed his jaw. “We can try something a little less ridiculous sometime, with, hmmmmm…_incentives,_ maybe,” Taako teased. “But for now, yeah.”

Taako was abruptly aware that he’d stopped laughing. The chair goofs were done and he couldn’t hide behind them anymore. He swallowed and took Kravitz’s hand. The nails were neat little crescents; Krav must’ve just clipped them. Too bad Taako couldn’t pretend to be completely enthralled by his knuckles or whatever for the whole evening. “So, uh.” he tried. “We gotta...talk about the thing I guess, huh?”

"Yes. We have a bigger elephant in the room than any kinky inclinations you've kept to yourself thus far," Kravitz agreed. He shifted, offering a shoulder for Taako to gratefully lean on. "I've deduced that Sazed had something to do with what went wrong at culinary school. But that was—how long ago, now?"

Taako rolled his neck against Kravitz’s shoulder. He was glad to have the conversation like this—close, but no eye contact. No Kravitz staring into his soul through his eyes, watching him tear up. “Not that long. I didn’t get to start right after high school. Had to save up that tuition money. Anyway, it was a little over a year ago, spring semester last year. I was set to graduate, great grades and the whole shebang, all while putting in night shifts with Lup. You remember that I’ve got magic?”

Kravitz rested his cheek against the top of Taako’s head. "I'm not likely to forget. I have the image of Mookie, dropping from the ceiling like a particularly stupid, flightless bird, burned into my brain forever.” He draped his arm across Taako's back. He wanted him to feel safe. He wished he could keep Taako safe from everything, but they weren't in each other's lives when this happened.

There was nothing he could do about the past. But he would stand resolute now, as whatever Taako needed him to be. Safe harbor, confidant, lover. Patiently, he let Taako gather his thoughts.

Taako took the opening to cuddle further into Kravitz. That felt better, nice and secure. Private, too—no one could really hear all this through the soundproofing. And he trusted Kravitz to not talk about his shit behind his back. So he continued, “Mostly I do transmutation. I do _not_ have a license for that shit. I taught myself from some sketchy websites and library books and just plain fucking up until I didn’t anymore. And before long, I didn’t fuck up at all.” He paused. “I did it so me and Lup could have better stuff. Upcycled thrift clothing and hand-me-downs, yeah, but mostly better food. We could get cheap ingredients, or scraps, to improve on. I could cook it, and then we’d be okay. It wasn’t just to be cool, but it was very cool.”

He broke off with a chuckle. “Anyhow, point is, I didn’t learn magic from school, so it wasn’t on any record, and the faculty didn’t exactly know I knew it.”

"That's—" Kravitz hedged his words carefully. Taako's trust was utterly precious to him. He couldn't risk shattering it. The idea of unlicensed, potentially unsafe magic alarmed him to his core, but this was _Taako._ Once upon a time, someone had a conversation with him about edge cases, and while he couldn’t remember the context, it was still lodged in his brain.

It was true that eating transmuted food could've gone wrong in so many ways. But Taako was okay, and that was all Kravitz really cared about. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that. You know you're brilliant, right? Spellbooks are not written for laypeople to figure out easily, let alone children. I’m frankly astonished."

“They’re sure not,” Taako agreed. “Working with scraps, it took a long time to get it right enough to try the food, but...you know, I had to do something. I never let Lup have the first bite. Just in case.” A look came across Taako’s face, filling in the part he couldn’t quite say. “It was always fine, usually tastier than before, unless I fucked up the seasoning or something totally normal.

“Anyhow, I was in my last semester, and everything was fine. It was a small program, so Sazed was in most of my classes, joy of joys. We got assigned to the same group for one final. He could tell my food was delicious, even though I was mostly just using what I was given. He started talking about working together after graduation, on and on. I didn’t really wanna lock into that, cause maybe something else would come up, you know? So I tried to signal—you know how it is, cutting out of convos early, tuning him out, that kind of thing. I deffo never encouraged him. But then he asked me out.”

Taako made a face. “He’s not bad looking? I figured it might be fun. Go see a movie, it’s fine, he’ll drive, he’ll pay. I got bad vibes though and went home afterwards, no...well, you get the picture. Classy boy, for once, right? It was only a first date. Rated PG. Next class, he asked again. I let him down easy. I tried to, anyhow.”

Kravitz was bristling. "He tried to insinuate to me that he had something more significant with you than one date. He said something about 'giving you another chance'."

Taako cringed slightly. “Yeah, that tracks,” he muttered. “You said he wouldn’t go away when you didn’t give him what he wanted? He did the same thing back then. He acted like I’d said ‘later’ instead of ‘no’ and kept asking me out in this weird way. Like it was decided that I would, and it was just a matter of time. I think he really thought it was more? Or that I owed him something? I don’t know. When I’d turn him down, or focus him back up on classwork, he’d get pissed off and throw a hissyfit. And then there was Insta.”

Taako paused. How does somebody explain social media harassment to their boyfriend from the nineteenth century? “So, I had an Instagram, right. It’s facebook, but for pictures, and a younger crowd—nobody’s grandma is on there, I hope. I posted a lot, pictures of food, pictures of me—yes, I still have ‘em, you can see ‘em,” he said wryly. “A lot of pictures of me with food, kinda sexy in an ‘I blew your mind last night and made you breakfast’ way, you know? Not showing skin, obviously, but like—cozy.

“Anyway, the handle was just my name, so it was easy for Sazed to find it and just as easy for him to start harassing me nonstop, sending me all kinds of nasty stuff and an endless stream of dick pics. Like it wasn’t completely obvious who that shit was coming from. For a while, I tried to ignore him and keep the account going, because I didn’t wanna lose my followers or my brand. Spoilers: 2/10, not worth the time or effort. 

“Because these call-outs started cropping up. Claims about whatever vile shit you can think of, none of it with proof, but the rumor mill still circulated ‘em. Every time I reported one account he made another, and strangers started repeating his bullshit. I had mutuals warn me they were getting anonymous ‘concerned messages’ about me.”

"I'm going to kill him," Kravitz said pleasantly. "I'm going to cut him in half and dump the body into the sea."

Taako gave a half-hearted chuckle. “That would solve one of my problems, for sure babe, but then you’d be in jail and I don’t like that at all, so.” He shrugged. “The Instagram people didn’t do much, so I ended up locking down my account. I had a ton of followers, and I had thought maybe eventually I’d hit it big, become internet famous? Gone just like that. It’s why I was incognito on Grindr.”

Taako took a breath. They were coming up on the real hard part. “And while all that was going on, I still had to see Sazed in class. Maybe I should’ve laid out my complaints to a counselor or somebody, but this was culinary school. I’m not sure we even _had_ one of those. It wasn’t real clear who I should talk to? Like, ‘Hey, teach, wanna see a picture that I think is probably another student’s dick?’ That would be buckwild, and I was already stressin’ out about graduating so bad that I didn’t have the headspace to tackle that shit. I made nonspecific requests to get moved away from him in a couple classes, the ones where you could talk to the instructors like people, and hoped that would be enough.

“So that brings us up to the final I had with him. I knew all of Sazed’s bullshit had gotten into my head, so I went in there with a recipe I was sure I could pull off: Thirty Garlic Clove Chicken.”

Kravitz suppressed any bodily flinch that would broadcast his recognition of that name. Sazed had better not set foot in Far Corners ever again, because he really would meet a gruesome end.

Taako continued, “I thought it was a good thing I picked my signature dish as our entree, because I had to do most of Sazed's work too, and it was a nightmare. I am was running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Sazed just couldn’t stop fucking up. And then, at the end, I realized I was missing an ingredient for a garnish: elderberries. So I transmuted them. Easy, no problem.

“Except that it was the first time since I was a kid that I fucked up, and the only time I didn’t taste it first.” Taako wrapped his arm around Kravitz’s back and squeezed, closing his eyes for a second. “I guess I was distracted. I was freaking out that we were gonna bomb the final because of Sazed’s fuckin’ incompetence. But it was my fault that three instructors wound up in the hospital, super sick.”

"You confessed?" Kravitz asked, head spinning. Something about the story didn't add up to him. Must've been some garnish, for the instructors to choose to eat it, and enough of it to get sick from. "You told them you'd transmuted the elderberries?"

"I didn't have to. They had video. Apparently a security camera? They only showed me a little clip of it, just the part that counted. Then they expelled me. For a while, I thought they were gonna press charges. All the paperwork started coming in the mail, too much to even read, and it kinda broke my brain. Lup brings the mail in now—I can’t even deal with it before she sorts it.

“It fucking sucked. I went from nearly graduating to losing my credits, and all the money me ‘n Lup paid for them. The only bright spots were that the instructors didn’t die and my job didn’t fire me. I guess a sports bar wouldn’t give a shit about me poisoning people even if they’d heard, right? So for a few months, I stopped doing anything except going to work. I switched to bussing tables there. The pay was shit, but I couldn’t...handle making food for people, especially right after.”

Lup let him off the hook at work, but bullied him into prepping ingredients for her at home. He eventually admitted that she was right; it was probably physically impossible to poison someone by slicing carrots wrong. From there, she worked him up to stirring sauces for her, then seasoning, and eventually he was just...back to doing it on his own.

No one’s ever accused Lup of being subtle. Taako knew she strategically had Magnus and Merle over for weekend brunch a few times to puff up his confidence. He had to hand it to them. They were the reason he was cooking at all, though he was sure he’d never use magic in the kitchen again.

He was so lucky to have good people in his life. Recounting all this was painful, but Kravitz was here with him, holding his hand the whole way through. In fact, it was only since getting to know Kravitz—but before hooking up with him—that Taako had cast any magic, following the incident. The Taako from last summer might not have been able to save Mookie from becoming floor paste.

"Did you ever tell your program about Sazed?” Kravitz asked. “I'm infuriated on your behalf. His behavior was totally unacceptable."

Taako grimaced. “They didn’t really wanna take me seriously by then. He was one of the witnesses. They seemed more invested in the whole ‘this guy’s a loose cannon and also is mean to me in class for some reason I can’t fathom’ narrative he was feeding them. But...it’s over now, as long as he doesn’t come back. I’ve got you and the shop and everything, so I’ll be okay. Better than okay.

“Also, I burned all my accounts—everywhere Sazed might find me online—and that seemed to shake him off my tail. Before Wednesday I hadn’t heard from him, at least. I’m still mostly off social media. I kept my head down at the sports bar and ended up hosting for a couple months. Then Ango recommended me to Brad, and he gave me the kind of job I’d written off ever having a chance at. And that’s...all of it? Pretty sure that’s all of it.”

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that," Kravitz said. "There is absolutely nothing you could have done to deserve the way Sazed treated you. His actions were beyond the pale. It's a gross failure of your program that they offered you no redress. Did they just let him graduate?"

Taako turned his face into Kravitz’s shoulder. Kravitz’s concern was sweet, but he was ready to be done having emotions today, thanks. “As far as I know. He hadn’t really done anything school-related that they wanted to go after him for. I guess they just saw recklessness and some sort of unfair advantage for me and that was that. I just kinda...want him to go away? Like, not like _that,_ but just leave my life.”

"I really don't like that he's coming after you now," Kravitz said. "He knew he was up to no good, the way he was trying to sneak past me to get to you. It's scary that he's got such an ax to grind. Didn't he do enough, telling the school you transmuted food? Would they have even known to check security footage, otherwise?"

Taako squeezed Kravitz’s hand. “Huh. I guess maybe not. I never really thought about that? There were other students in the kitchen, one of them could’ve—but they were busy with their own work... Without the cameras, the school might’ve chalked everything up to regular ol’ salmonella.”

That would’ve been survivable. Maybe a failed final, but he could’ve retaken the class after. He’d still have been able to graduate. That was way more like what he felt he deserved.

Kravitz swallowed dryly. "I had a bad feeling about Sazed from the get-go, and that impression has only grown." If only he could keep Taako safe. It was obvious that Sazed held a grudge. Kravitz harbored some dark thoughts about how far he might be willing to go to harass Taako. If only there was more he could do than just watching over the storefront with a careful eye.

And Taako was there for another three hours after he left for the day. While Carey was on high alert for any Sazed-shaped problems, and could definitely be trusted to break some heads, Kravitz would not dismiss the risk of escalation. "I want to do more to help you. Anything you need."

Taako turned his head and kissed Kravitz’s neck. Well, his hoodie collar—that’s what he got for overdressing all summer. “You’re doing a lot. You’re doing more than probably anyone but Lup has, just by being here this way. The others knew and listened to me bitch, but y’know.” Taako shrugged. “It’s different. It’s a whole different thing.”

Magnus and Merle had his back as much as Kravitz did, absolutely. And they’d been there for him when he was vulnerable. But Kravitz...he made being vulnerable feel not just safe, but…_good_.

Probably he loved Kravitz.

Taako leaned in a little more snugly. He was about a micrometer away from fully climbing into Kravitz’s lap. The only thing stopping him was how narrow the bench was (and how their seating alternatives were the World’s Rudest Chair or the concrete floor.) “I feel a lot safer with you up front in the shop. He didn’t try anything nasty, did he? ‘Cause fuck it, the two of us could take him, easy. We could get some masks, some burner phones, go off the grid and do the thing. Maybe they’ll let us share a jail cell. I’d walk back what I said before if I got to come with you, because that’s free rent, baby.”

Kravitz snorted. "My ideal would be not getting caught. I don’t fancy incarceration in the least. Actually, if I may contribute to this fantasy, picture: a dark robe and cowl. Just for me, because I would leave you safe at home. I would steal away in the night and return with Sazed’s head on a platter like a gruesome trophy. Does anyone place bounties on grossly offensive malefactors? I could do that job."

Taako laughed, pulled out of his hurt a little by the image. Kravitz thrilled at the sound. “Babe, listen: I love that, you spooky boy. But I have a condition, and it is that, when you bring me his head, I get to be draped across a chaise lounge.”

Eagerly, Kravitz extended the goof to keep Taako laughing. "You read my mind. Can I persuade you to utilize a skimpy negligee for lounge wear? Something with a sash. You don't get to tie it all the way. In this scenario, the going rate for one decapitated head is a poorly-done knot."

“Oooh, then it would fall open, what a good reward for a sexy bounty hunter,” Taako purred. “I’m very into this, just so you know. Imagine all the poses you might find me in, huh?”

"Mmm, I'm struggling to picture that. I think I might need a visual reference. A demonstration, ideally."

Taako had a fit of giggles that left him in tears. “In here? In the fuckin’ stockade? This is the worst place anyone has ever come onto me, holy shit. I can’t believe it’s working. But nah, nah, we’ll need more space, how ‘bout at my place after you finish practicing? I’ll get all cute, pose a l'il bit, see what happens...” Taako winked.

Kravitz kissed the crown of his head. "I would love to go home with you. I just need to put in my obligatory practice time. Enough to justify spending the evening here, at least. But, before that, since you mentioned cute poses— Are you sure you wouldn't mind if I looked at your Instagram?"

“I’d get a kick out of you looking at my Instagram, see what it does to you.” Taako smirked. “There are some choice shots. If you’d seen those before, there’s no way we’d’ve made it that long without meeting.”

Kravitz gently eased Taako’s head off his shoulder and bent to grab his phone from under the bench. "Okay, I know I should be playing by now, but this takes precedence. Let me get on the school wifi and download this app. If you'd like, the password's _corvuscorax2019_—all one word and lowercase—so you can have something to do while you wait on me. There's no way you'll get signal from the cell tower down here."

After a couple misspellings, he found Fantasy Instagram and set the app to download. When this didn't instantly yield suggestive photographs of Taako, he pouted. The download bar crept towards five percent. "Could I maaaaybe see your phone for a second, dear? Would you indulge my impatience?"

“Give me a mo’, I’m still working on typing that insan-o wifi password—it’s gotta be ‘corax’ with a ‘c’, right?” Kravitz nodded. “You guys sure do commit to the whole vibe— Here we go,” Taako crowed, offering his phone to Kravitz with his Instagram feed pulled up.

There were a _lot_ of photos. Thousands, easily, representing hours and hours of effort. It was awful that Taako had to vanish from his account because of Sazed's harassment. The date on his most recent picture was over a year ago. In the comments, many of his followers were wondering where he went.

Distracted by his thoughts, Kravitz scrolled down and— "Wait, what is— Is this...?"

“Oooh, okay, that one, credit where it’s due, _Lup_ was the art director for that one. She pulled the sweater off the shoulder that way, but the lollipop and wink are all me. If you like that one...hold on...thoughts on this one here? I personally like the deep V neck on this tee, and the knee pulled up to frame the plate. Just missing the chaise lounge, huh?”

Slowly, Kravitz lowered the phone. "Love? Dearest? Hot _damn._ Do you still have that outfit? I need to know."

Taako toyed with a lock of his hair. “Yeeeeesss, and someone to wear it for. Lucky boy.”

Kravitz kissed him, just because he could. He snuck his arm back around Taako's waist, pulling him close and continuing to scroll. Hard to say what was most tantalizing, between the images of gorgeously plated food and the even more gorgeous elf serving it up. "I am ridiculously lucky. I can't believe I instituted a 'no photos' policy over Grindr and missed out on all this. Can you imagine what things would've been like if we'd known each other's faces from the start?"

Taako returned his head to Kravitz’s shoulder. He lived here now. It wasn’t even a big deal that Kravitz was always cold, when he was this comfy to lean on. “Mm, probably chiller. Possibly hornier, but we can make up for that,” he teased. “Ooh, this one was fun, Lup snapped it on accident. I wasn’t ready, but it was a perfect over-the-shoulder thing. A candid shot, y’know?”

"I like it because you look so happy." Kravitz softened, taking in the expression on Taako's face in the picture. He was adorable, with his lips quirked around the gap in his teeth. His eyes were alight with laughter. No wrinkles showed at the corners, and Kravitz realized that he'd never seen Taako smile without strain. Because this was what easy joy looked like on him.

The corners of Taako’s mouth quirked wistfully, in a dim echo of his expression in the photo. “Yeah, I was really happy. That’s in our old place, but we’d just found out we were approved for our current apartment and we hadn’t started packing up yet. I was so excited, cuz it was more space and in the same building as Mags and Merle. It was a really good day.”

Kravitz laced their fingers together. "They're good friends to you. I'm glad they're close by. Maybe, on one of these weekends I go home with you, we could invite them to hang out? I want to apologize for us getting off on the wrong foot."

“I’d like that.” Taako hooked his ankle around Kravitz’s. They were so tangled up that peeling free for music practice was gonna take some doing. He loved it. “I think you guys would get along. They were kinda pissed off that I was sad before, but you make me happy now. And Lup and Barry and Angus like you, so we’ll just peer pressure them if they’re dumb about it. Plus, and here’s my masterstroke: if we feed them, they’ll be more friendly.”

"Feed to make friendly, got it. I can sympathize," Kravitz said. He handed Taako his phone back and gave him a quick hug. "Let me play for a couple of hours, and then I can accompany you home for the night. I was sort of hoping. I packed spare clothes and a toothbrush in my bag this time."

Of course Kravitz did, fuck! What a boy scout. Laughing, Taako unwound their limbs and scooted away to give Kravitz space on the bench. He settled in to listen to some warm-up scales, and, shortly thereafter, beautiful music. Another private performance just for him, from a handsome guy who was starting to feel like home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have never met a posture chair but Storm had canny insight into their awfulness.
> 
> Yes, hello, re: posture chairs it is possible to slouch in them, but it requires a level of dedication to slouching not commonly seen in most people. It’s a rare breed (definitely me, potentially several other disaster bisexuals) who would even bother to wage a small war with a posture chair in college and share it with you now. For the uninitiated, the entire seat slopes downward to force the hips to tilt so that the back is straight (for better breath control). The key is balance, and the knowledge that right or wrong, you will never sit comfortably!


	37. Where the Sun is Shining/I want my friends to all be there

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> RACING FANS, ARE YOU READY FOR **BATTLEWAGONS?**
> 
> (Kravitz sure isn't!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: this chapter was written in January, so we did not remotely plan for it to post five days after Petals to the Metal came out. But let's pretend it's a tribute!

On the sliding scale of breakfast accessibility, omelets were close to the high-maintenance end. Taako was a busy elf, so he usually ate grab ‘n go: Pop-tarts, Eggo, toaster strudel, Go-Gurt, handfuls of leftover noodles from Chinese takeout. However, Kravitz was, incredibly, _even worse_ at breakfast than him. Kravitz sometimes ate plain toast, or cereal, and frequently nothing at all.

Having just caught this man, Taako was determined to keep him. The second Kravitz agreed to go home with him on Friday night, he decided to knock his socks off with breakfast omelets in the morning. They arrived at the twins’ place well after dark and discovered that Lup was sleeping over at Barry’s. Taako couldn’t resist the opportunity to show Kravitz one of his selfie outfits—first on him, and then on the floor.

That kept them up well past midnight and, in the morning, made dragging his carcass out of bed to cook a pain. But watching his boyfriend go feral on an omelet was worth it. Kravitz, half-naked, tore into his ham and cheese omelet like a starving man, making obscenely happy noises. Taako wanted this in his kitchen every morning.

Kravitz was dousing his third omelet in hot sauce when there was a knock at the door. Taako stopped slicing strawberries for a fruit salad—part of a pretense to convince Kravitz that his boyfriend was a responsible elf who _totally_ ate fruit on the reg—and wiped his hands on a towel.

A voice boomed through the door. “Guys, it’s Magnus! Open up, Merle’s here too!”

Kravitz shot Taako a panicked look. Taako groaned theatrically. He’d been planning on a chill morning. Sure, last night he’d fired off a quick text to the THB group chat that said, “**Hey, you guys gotta meet the bf as the bf, wanna hang this weekend?’**”, but normal people would reply to make plans instead of showing up unannounced.

Taako and Kravitz weren’t wearing even one full outfit between them: Taako was shirtless under his apron and Kravitz was in boxers. The rest of their clothing was heaped on the foot of the bed, discarded early last night. "Oh gods, make them go away," Kravitz whispered.

“No one’s home! Fuck off!” Taako shouted back in falsetto.

Magnus pounded on the door. “Nice try! We know you’re in there!”

"C'mon buddy!" Merle shouted. "You can't sleep the whole day away! Up and at 'em, that's adulthood."

Taako scrambled to grab a soft throw from the couch, wrapping it around his shoulders. He whirled, sending the blanket billowing as he headed for the door. “Go babe, get some pants, I got it,” he said to Kravitz. 

Kravitz scrambled to get his boxer-clad butt out of sight before the heckling about mornings-after could begin. At minimum, he wanted to be dressed and full of coffee before he had to deal with this brand of chaos. Getting along with Magnus and Merle was important. He was grateful to them for being such good friends to Taako. It would be so awkward if they induced him to murder them in a fit of pique. He slammed the bedroom door behind him.

“Magnus, you’d better not,” Taako warned playfully, darting to the front door. The knob turned before he touched it.

“Hey! I did it! How cool is that?” Magnus said, seeming a little surprised as the door swung open. Taako was gonna give Carey hell for turning him on to lockpicking at work on Monday. Mags was in athletic shorts, a t-shirt, and sneakers. That was usual for his Saturdays, but not the kneepads tucked into his waistband, and also he should be at judo right now. Instead, here he was with Merle, who was wearing sunglasses and looked equally down to clown.

“What are you guys _doing?”_ Taako asked with amusement. “We haven’t even finished breakfast!”

"You said you wanted to hang out!" Merle accused. "And that you were gonna bring your bee-eff! You're never around anymore, workin' those crazy hours, so we should get going while the getting's good!"

"Julia's pulling the truck up," Magnus said. He sidled into Taako's apartment, revealing the fistful of bobby pins he'd apparently used to pick the lock. Julia had a lot to answer for. "We're basically packed. We just need marshmallows, do you have marshmallows?"

Taako’s nose scrunched. “What’s the plan, guys? I never got a text about any plans, as you can probably tell,” he said, gesturing to his pajama pants and heading for the cupboard. “What kind of marshmallow ideas— The big ones or little ones? I think I have some big ones.”

“Big’s perfect! We’re going wagon racing,” Merle said. “We can toast some marshmallows, bond a little. C’mon, where’s Krav? We’re burning daylight!”

"I'm putting clothing on!" Kravitz called from the bedroom. "Because you didn't have the courtesy to warn us before breaking the door down! What did you think you were going to find?"

"Hey, we gave you more than enough time to swap spit. It's almost eleven!" Magnus said. “Also, catching you off-guard means we get a better picture of you and Taako as like, an item.”

Kravitz huffed to himself behind the closed door. He supposed it was valid to point out that his actions worried Magnus and Merle. Still— "Why couldn't you have texted Taako?"

Merle guffawed. "We do this all the time! He’s right downstairs. And this way’s more fun."

"Let me apologize on your behalf, then," Kravitz sniped, shrugging on a shirt. What the hell did wagon racing even entail? Probably nothing safe enough for nice clothing. He pulled out jeans.

Taako tossed the marshmallows to Magnus. “I gotta put clothes on too, and really guys, you should text, if not for us, remember the couch? Lup and Barry? No one wants to see that.” He wasn’t upset, but a boundary or two wouldn’t hurt.

Magnus started, “True, but I mean, your sister and Barry aren’t bad-look—”

“Do _not_ finish that sentence in my presence, I will _die!”_

“Fair enough! Hurry up and get dressed. Jules is waiting out front by now.”

Taako shot Magnus a thumbs-up and padded back to the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Kravitz was mostly ready to go, just sitting on the edge of Taako’s bed and tying his shoelaces. Taako bent down to kiss his cheek. “You wanna go wagon racing, babe? It’ll be a riot, you’ll love it.”

Kravitz raised his eyebrows and gave Taako a thin smile. "As much as I trust you, I want more details before I commit to climbing into whatever vehicle you mean. Not covered wagons, surely?"

"LOL!" Magnus called from the living room. Kravitz enjoyed every moment at Taako's apartment, but _this_ moment was illustrative of the need for Lup to be out when he slept over. There wasn’t nearly enough soundproofing for comfort.

Taako laughed and turned to dig in a dresser drawer for some clothes. “Oh, you’ll see. C’mon Krav, doncha trust me? Me, your boyfriend?”

“Come on Krav, you gotta trust him, it’s important for your relationship!” Merle shouted through the door.

Taako walked over and gave the door a thump, prompting a “Hey!” from the other side. “I swear to every god you guys, lemme talk to my man.”

"We did sign up for this, unintentionally or not," Kravitz said. He finished freeing his hair from the collar of a t-shirt—more of a grey than a black one today, if only from repeated washings. Fishing an elastic from his pocket, he came up behind Taako and nipped playfully at his neck.

Taako giggled. “See? We’re having fun already.” He turned to kiss Kravitz properly. “It’ll be fun. Promise you,” he said, sliding his hands down to take Kravitz’s hands. “And we deserve it! Let’s have fun! We work too hard.” 

“We do,” Kravitz confirmed. “I know you well enough to consider your taste in fun suspect, but I _suppose_ I’ll trust you, just this one time.”

“_Excellent.”_ Taako grinned, then squeezed Kravitz’s hands and dropped them to go pull a shirt over his head. He struck a pose. “How do I look?”

Kravitz pretended to look over Taako and evaluate his jeans and t-shirt combo. In reality, he was standing too close to really see, with no intention of moving away. "Ravishing. Do we need helmets to complete the ensemble?"

"Nobody wears helmets!" Magnus scoffed, his voice so loud that he had to be right on the other side of the door. "I heard the kissing noises, knock it off and get out here! You can kiss all you want on the drive over."

Kravitz spluttered indignantly.

“Pulled this out of the hall closet for you,” Magnus said, after they ventured back into the living room. He thrust a leather jacket at Taako. He’d donned kneepads and a jacket himself, and Merle was fluffing the collar on a third jacket.

“You all match. That’s adorable,” Kravitz said. “This is a whole thing, isn’t it?”

His suspicions were confirmed when they wedged themselves into Magnus’s truck. The bed was full of coolers, and Magnus tossed the marshmallows into one of several plastic bags in the front passenger footspace before climbing in next to Julia. She shot them a wave from the driver’s seat. Her mass of bushy hair was scrunched up in a high bun, and she was wearing an athletic outfit like Magnus’s, but with elbow pads and bare shoulders. There were masks tucked into the pouch on the back of her seat. Kravitz tried to get a look at them: an owl, two bears, and some kind of cat-thing.

“You got the stuff for a bonfire?” Taako asked, vying for kneespace with Merle’s Birkenstocks. His stubby legs didn’t come anywhere near the floor and the seatbelt would’ve crossed his forehead if he’d bothered. “You need a booster seat, old man.”

“Nature’ll provide!” Merle scoffed.

“What, the booster seat? Or do you mean for firewood?”

“There is so much testosterone in this car,” Julia complained as she fought her way towards the main roads. Traffic was always heavy on Saturdays in this part of town. “Shame Lup couldn’t make it. But it sounded like she and Barry are _busy.”_ She winked at Magnus.

“You texted her and not me?” Taako exclaimed.

Magnus shrugged. “We figured you guys would be together! She didn’t text back ‘til like, right before we came down to get you. Probably had her phone on silent.”

“Gods,” Taako moaned.

Merle laughed. “Her loss, huh?”

"I dunno, guys," Magnus said. "When I met Barry, my literal first impression was 'Wow, now there's a man with a nice ass'. Lup really scored. I might've ditched this for him too."

"Hard agree!" Julia sang as she merged them onto the freeway. "Plus, he just looks so huggable, right? But not as huggable as my baby."

"Awwww. You’re _my_ baby," Magnus cooed. Julia cooed back.

Kravitz snorted. "To each their own, I suppose."

Merle winked. "Because Taako has the nicest ass, right Kravvy?"

_"I am not talking about Taako's ass with you all._ But, well, obviously."

Taako laughed. “Awww, thanks babe. Damn straight, you know that’s the right answer.” It was fun to be part of the gooey couple-y talk in a group for a change, instead of just spectating on the Burnsides’s PDA.

“Are you two bein’ gross back there?” Magnus asked, turning to look at them.

“Are you two bein’ gross up there? Mind your business,” Taako retorted without heat.

Julia laughed. “Ooh, he got us!”

Merle shook his head with mock seriousness. “Leave room for Pan, everybody.”

Kravitz defiantly threw an arm around Taako’s shoulders and pulled him to lean into his shoulder. "Where's Davenport?" Kravitz asked. "I'm still not clear on what 'wagons' are, but racing is entirely his speed."

"It’s real thoughtful of you to ask after him," Merle replied with a smile. "He's about to go back on the road, so he wanted to take it easy this weekend. He ‘n Mavey were reading books when I left. We plugged Mookie into Pokeyman Swish to keep him happy. Mooks wants to know when you boys are takin' him back to the laser tag place. He won’t shut up about how much fun he had."

_“Pokeyman Swish,”_ Taako chuckled under his breath. “Is he gonna scare us into an early grave, is the question? Cuz the laser tag people didn’t like that shit at all.”

Merle scoffed. “He was fine. No blood no foul, right? Just being a kid is all, and you caught him.”

Kravitz's eyes went wide and haunted. "Merle. He nearly died. I cannot emphasize that enough."

Merle waved a hand dismissively. "Nah, you don't know how bouncy kids are. He only woulda broken a coupla bones.”

“Okay, they are bouncy but not _that_ bouncy, Merle, even I know that,” Taako said.

“If you're not up to take him back to laser tag, maybe I could get y'all to show him the creek we're heading to, one of these weekends? Krav, you’ll like the place. It’s got character."

“The creek.” Taako rolled his eyes. “You know he’ll get filthy, it’s super muddy—babe, you’ll see in a minute, you can back me up. That kid would walk straight into the creek and we’d have to fish him out.”

“Kids are meant to get grubby! That’s what childhood is!” Merle protested.

"Fortunately, neither Taako nor I have a vehicle. We have no way to transport him," Kravitz said firmly.

"Yeah, it's kind of a long drive," Julie agreed. "But you've stayed over at Angus's before, right Taako? And that's like, right there. So Merle could drop Mookie off for you guys in the morning, no problem." She kept her tone level through selling them out, but they could see a suppressed smile reflected in the rearview mirror.

“Why don’t _you_ sleep over at Angus’s place and entertain Mookie?” Taako shot back. “I’ve got a frail constitution; I can’t possibly handle that level of drama.”

“Hang on, here’s an idea.” Merle rubbed his beard thoughtfully. “Why don’t we cut out the middleman and let Mookie sleep over at Angus’s? That way he can take himself to the creek.”

Kravitz led the car in dissolving into laughing outrage. _“NO!”_ Taako shouted. “Don’t you dare do that to Ango, do you hate the kid or— Do you hate both kids, do you not _want_ Mookie back, because that’s how you lose an entire child—”

After another half-hour of banter, Julia’s truck rolled onto the McDonalds’s street. The tangle of trees behind their house, Taako explained, was actually a forest that stretched all the way up to the mountain. Angus had originally suggested it as the site for clandestine magic lessons, and Taako had been quick to invite his friends back there for further shenanigans.

This time of year, everything was dry as tinder. The day was hot but, thankfully, not humid. Kravitz was also quite grateful that he wasn’t expected to don a matching leather jacket like Taako, Magnus, and Merle. Julia parked on the end of a cul-de-sac, where the pavement gave way to tall, yellowed grass that was certain to be full of snakes and burrs and other nasty surprises.

Kravitz was wondering how this could possibly be an appropriate venue for a race when Magnus and Julia wheeled a wagon out of the McDonald's detached garage. "I have some questions," he said immediately.

Their vehicle did not look road safe. It looked like someone had eviscerated several bicycles for parts and welded them onto the corpse of a golf cart. Instead of an engine to power the wheels, two sets of pedals were visible at the center of a large hole in the floor, below the driver's bench. Magnus steered while he and Julia scampered, Fantasy Flintstones-style.

The whole thing swayed with each rotation of the wheels. There were bits of carved wood glued along the frame, slapped-together decorations probably cast off from larger projects, including several wooden ducks. And several rubber ones. And an air horn. The nose was decorated with a welded, metal mask shaped like a bear’s snout, open mid-roar to display massive teeth.

“Meet the Iron Bear! My finest work,” Julia said in response to Kravitz’s open stare. “People should commission me to make another one of these, because it was a blast.”

“And welcome to battlewagon racing!” Magnus roared.

“Battlewagons?” Kravitz asked incredulously.

“Wagons that race while battling,” Taako said with a snort. “C’mon babe, keep up. Any more obvious questions?”

“Yes. When did you lot _lose your damn minds?”_

“Our buddy Hurley introduced us!” Merle said. “Y’see, there’s an actual illegal—”

“_Semi_-legal,” Taako interjected.__

_ _“Right, yeah, there’s a six-mile racing track around Goldcliff. Hurley ‘n her girlfriend are a team, but a while back Hurley recruited us to fill in so she could beat her in a race.”_ _

_ _Kravitz gave the Iron Bear an even more critical look. “On these things?”_ _

_ _“Haha, no!” Magnus laughed. “These carts are actually like, just for fun? Hurley and Sloane have one here too, but their real battlewagon in Goldcliff is like, this colossal thing with ram’s horns, raven’s wings, and a sick engine.”_ _

_ _“It can glide, a bit. It’s so damn cool,” Julia said. “We should pop some corn and watch a race sometime. There’re streams online, if you know where to look. It’s a popular betting sport—people gamble a _ton_ of money. All unofficially, of course.”_ _

_ _“I can see why this is only semi-legal,” Kravitz said._ _

_ _“Yeah, because of that, and the fatalities.”_ _

_ _“What?!”_ _

_ _“Anyhow, babe,” Taako cut in before Kravitz could work himself up. Way to scare his boyfriend, guys, geez. “This is the safe and sane version of that. Just a fun little competition between friends.”_ _

_ _“‘Just a fun little competition’. Right,” Kravitz said. “Well, where’s your wagon?”_ _

_ _Taako flounced towards the garage. “My man, it’s a masterpiece. You’re in for a treat. Me and Lup spent an entire twenty bucks at the Fantasy Dollar Store to kit it out.”_ _

_ _“‘It’ being another junked golf cart?”_ _

_ _“Oh ye of little faith!” Merle crowed. “Some of us use non-junked, non-golf carts. Check out Dav’s in there, his was an old go-kart!”_ _

_ _Kravitz followed Taako into the garage and discovered Angus’s Gremlin didn’t live inside. There was no space, because it was crowded with more ridiculous wagons. “I usually ride with Dav. This is it.” Merle pointed at a silver go-kart that looked uniquely well-constructed and intact. Crimson flags stood proudly above the spoiler. The side proclaimed ‘Starblaster’ in swooping script. “Not a scratch on it!”_ _

_ _“Because you kept that Mending spanner Hurley gave you, and the cap’n doesn’t let you or Magus drive it, no matter how much you bitch,” Taako scoffed. “I, personally, would never ask, because it’s not my style. _This_ is me and Lup’s.”_ _

_ _He proudly patted the side of a two-seater motorcycle…with bike pedals. It was spray-painted a brilliant gold and glitzed with flame decals. The curved, extra-long seat was covered in neon pink duct tape. Every inch of the thing was festooned with a banner of rainbow flag pennants, which were tattered beyond repair and kind of looked like they had been gathered up after being trampled by most of a parade one summer. The string of pennants hung dangerously close to the wheels and seemed about to tangle in them. An old bike horn was zip-tied to part of the frame, and the remnants of a mess that used to be glittery bike streamers hung down from it._ _

_ _For Kravitz’s outburst of anxious, derisive laughter, he got to wheel the ‘Phoenix Blitz’ to the starting line while Taako lounged side-saddle. Kravitz grew even more concerned as they hauled the wagons over a meadow, past an ominously large patch of cactus, along a hiking trail that must have a legitimate entrance elsewhere, across a rickety bridge spanning a creek, and up a cliff. _ _

_ _“Are the girls coming?” Taako asked. He was the picture of indolence, but he was also lowkey holding the handlebars in place so the front wheel wouldn’t jitter while Kravitz pushed. He just wasn’t working the pedals because he needed to be fresh to kick ass._ _

_ _“Yup,” Julia called. She brought the Iron Bear to a stop ahead of the Phoenix Blitz. They were in a sloped clearing at the top of the cliff, with only a thin line of trees between the wagons and certain doom, and the slope pointed off the cliff instead of back down the trail immediately. Kravitz may love a good adrenaline rush, but he already hated this._ _

_ _Magnus put the coolers he’d been juggling down next to the Iron Bear. “Sloane’s sidelined cuz she’s still kind of on rest orders. But Hurley said she’s gonna kick my ass for both of them, so I’ve gotta win.”_ _

_ _“That’s assuming _I_ don’t win,” Taako countered. “What then, big guy, huh?”_ _

_ _"Please, you're not gonna beat us," Magnus scoffed. "Not with this guy on your team. No offense, Krav, but I didn't think your face could go that pale. You need to sit down, buddy?"_ _

_ _"Is it worth pointing out that this looks colossally unsafe?" Kravitz swept his arm over the wagons, pointing to the steep, unkempt trail that wound through scrubby trees, prickly bushes, and tall grass. On their way up, after dumping the food off next to a firepit at the end of the course, Merle had cleared the trail by throwing some downed branches off into the brush. As if that mattered one bit. "Have you all been doing this so long that you forgot how insane it is?"_ _

_ _"Yup," Merle said cheerfully. "C'mon Krav, get on the bike! Live a little."_ _

_ _"After searching my feelings, I think I would only fuck with this if I was already dead," Kravitz said firmly, crossing his arms and plunking down on a cooler._ _

_ _"Gimme one of those, we use 'em for ballast," Magnus demanded. He loaded one into the back of the Bear and patted the frame holding up a canopy of cracked plastic and glued-on ducks. "Heavier means faster on the downhill. Taako's gonna eat dust if you don't ride with him." He waggled his eyebrows._ _

_ _“Dibs on this one,” Taako said, grabbing the smallest cooler. “You can’t have ‘em all!” He hefted the cooler onto the metal rack on the back of the Phoenix. Kravitz sprang up to help, too late; Taako turned and seized his hands. “Do you wanna ride with me, babe? It’s solid, see?” He let go of one hand and wiggled the bike, which responded in a way that did not remotely suggest ‘solid’. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. You can just head back to the finish line and watch me win this thing.”_ _

_ _Kravitz felt acutely pressed to tell Taako that he loved him, before he fucking died on that bike. "You've done this before? Safely? You promise?"_ _

_ _“Yeah! Usually with Lup, and we’re both still kicking. We just hold on real tight and go down the hill, you know? And then win, that part’s important.”_ _

_ _"Krav's chickening out," Merle cackled._ _

_ _"I'm chickening out," Kravitz affirmed. "I'm so sorry, but these things look like death traps on wheels. I'm not sure if it's better or worse that they don't have engines. Do they at least have brakes?"_ _

_ _"Absolutely not," Julia said cheerfully. "That would go against the spirit of the contest."_ _

_ _Merle smiled and twirled a strand of his beard. "Dav wouldn't let us put much mechanical stuff in. You don’t wanna catch fire or spill gas all over the woods, do you? It's safer without that junk. All you gotta do to brake is hit a tree."_ _

_ _“Normal bikes have brakes without an engine!” Kravitz insisted. He visibly waffled, turning to look over the Phoenix Blitz. Secretly, they totally had brakes—the Phoenix’s was a handbrake, hidden under the streamers—but Julia was a troll and Taako could eat his boyfriend’s overt concern with a spoon._ _

_ _"What's the problem, buddy?" Magnus asked._ _

_ _"I don't want to watch my boyfriend die, that's the problem," Kravitz said. But he would never dream of stopping their fun. Really, what got him was the image of medical bills dancing before his eyes. He was in quite enough debt already without rolling into the ER today._ _

_ _Okay, no, the image of Taako's wagon careening off a cliff was way scarier. Why must these things feature cliffs?_ _

_ _“I won’t die,” Taako said, squeezing Kravitz’s hand. “And Merle’s here, for all the good that does us usually.” He stuck out his tongue._ _

_ _“Hey!” Merle protested._ _

_ _"Heeeey!" echoed a woman's voice from the trees. The sound of pedaling on a dirt path followed. The last wagon Kravitz had noticed in the garage, a stout contraption that looked like it started life as a small 4-wheeler, rounded the corner. The halfling driving it had brown skin that was a similar shade to Taako’s, while her hair was almost white, significantly lighter than his bottle-blonde tresses with dark roots._ _

_ _She grinned at them broadly from under a mask with ram’s horns at the temples. The ram motif was echoed in the spiraling handlebars of her wagon. Wings on either side of the seat, formed from mesh and covered in fluffy black feathers, were tucked close to the plastic body. The wagon’s nose was almost covered by a large lump of paper-mache that looked like it had been a fairly impressive ram’s skull, before a collision left it half-squashed. Now one of the horns was secured with duct tape. _ _

_ _"I see a new face! It's Hurley, nice to finally meet Taako's boy,” she said._ _

_ _"Likewise. I’m Kravitz," he replied smoothly, going in for a handshake._ _

_ _Hurley’s grip was firm and confident. "If you don't want to race, you can head back down to the firepit,” she offered. “My girlfriend, Sloane, is setting up camping chairs."_ _

_ _The woman who won the go-kart race against Davenport, Kravitz remembered. "I heard about the crash. Is she alright?"_ _

_ _"My girl's majorly concussed. I'm making her follow doctor's orders and sit this one out. Having someone to hang with will cheer her up, if you need an excuse to escape."_ _

_ _“Will you be okay there, babe? You should be able to see everything, and Sloane’s pretty cool,” Taako said. The last thing he wanted was for Kravitz to feel excluded and go sulk. Krav didn’t have enough friends, and Taako wanted his friends to be Krav’s friends, so they could hang around more (and so Magnus and Merle wouldn’t worry about him). Plus, Kravitz deserved to relax and have a good time. Taako wasn’t sure he ever made time to relax—music practice didn’t count—before they started hooking up._ _

_ _“If you do hang out down there, don’t let Sloane do anything dumb. She’s supposed to rest,” Hurley told Kravitz._ _

_ _"I can keep her company," Kravitz agreed, with no small amount of trepidation at the prospect of watching Taako careen down a cliff._ _

_ _Merle clapped his hands. "Sounds great!" He turned to Hurley. "I'm riding with you today, sis! And we have Krav here on standby in case someone else takes a header."_ _

_ _"Excuse me?" Kravitz threw his hands up. "I am wholly unqualified for that! If a medical problem gets to me, they're probably already dead!" The closest thing he had to medical experience was a years-expired CPR cert from the Raven Queen's youth Fledgling program. In many ways it was a very good program, but first aid training was certainly not among its strengths._ _

_ _"Pssh, you'll do fine!" Merle grinned._ _

_ _“You’ve got this, babe. Just remember to put pressure on anything bleeding, it’s fine. Plus, we probably won’t even crash this time!” Taako hurriedly added._ _

_ _“You don’t have to sit on the sidelines. But do whatcha gotta do,” Merle said._ _

_ _"I would be most comfortable on the sidelines," Kravitz affirmed. "Promise me you'll stay safe, love?"_ _

_ _Magnus bounced over and slapped Taako on the back before Kravitz could offer a heartfelt goodbye hug. "Betcha fifty bucks that Team Burnsides will kick your ass, Taako!"_ _

_ _“I’ll take that bet, prepare to lose!” Taako pulled his leather jacket on and flipped the collar up. From Kravitz’s expression, Taako figured he liked that. He stepped closer to Kravitz, wrapping arms around his neck. “As long as you’re happy, I’m happy, handsome. Can I get a kiss for luck?”_ _

_ _Well, when asked like that, Kravitz couldn't care about being self-conscious. He latched his arms around Taako's waist and kissed him earnestly. Taako kissed back, pulling him close. Having Kravitz here, where Taako could just kiss him, in friendly company? That was a good feeling. He could get used to it._ _

_ _“Hey, lovebirds! Knock it off! Krav, you can’t keep him from racing by kissing him!” Magnus called. Taako flipped him off behind Kravitz’s head, making no move to stop._ _

_ _Grinning against Taako's mouth, Kravitz decided that Magnus's idea sounded fantastic. Taako couldn't fly off a cliff if he was busy being ravished. He tightened his grip—and then let go and jumped a foot in the air after Merle smacked his ass. "What the _fuck!”__ _

_ _"That's as high as I can reach," Merle said placidly. Magnus and Julia doubled over with laughter. "You guys can go smoochy-smoochy later. I wanna get to the firepit and have a beer."_ _

_ _“I’ll avenge you, babe. I’ll kick his ass,” Taako promised Kravitz, trying not to laugh but failing to hide a grin. He planted another kiss on Kravitz’s cheek._ _

_ _"Please do. But, more importantly, stay safe," Kravitz said, stepping back._ _

_ _"You can find your way to the bonfire, right?" asked Hurley as she loaded the last cooler into her wagon._ _

_ _"I saw it on the way up," Kravitz assured her._ _

_ _Magnus clapped his hands. "Awright! Okay, rock-paper-scissors for whose wagon gets to be in front."_ _

_ _Throwing one last look over his shoulder, Kravitz veered off the trail that would serve as the race track, through underbrush, and down a steep scree at cliffside. Stringy nets of roots served as useful handholds for this shortcut. Not the sort of activity he intended to make a habit of, but getting dirt under his nails felt wholesome. He could probably stand to get more fresh air like this. When he reached the creek at the bottom of the cliff, he crossed back to the far shore by shuffling across the moss-covered lip of a narrow dam._ _

_ _A willowy woman with dark skin, a curtain of black hair, and an egg-sized bump on her forehead looked at him curiously from a camping chair pulled up next to the firepit, which was situated under the cover of a copse at the edge of a meadow. She had a small blaze kindling. Before greeting her, Kravitz turned to wave furiously up at Taako on the cliff, just visible through the thin band of trees. "Good luck!" he shouted._ _

_ _"Thanks, babe!" Taako called back. He pulled his wagon into the second position. He'd need to overtake Merle and Hurley quickly, ideally before the last curve, but that would be easy-peasy. He tied his mongoose mask on, a cocky grin disguising the calculations running in his head._ _

_ _Kravitz sat down heavily in the chair next to Sloane, then shot back up when he found that the cliff blocked his view from that low vantage._ _

_ _"Nice to meet you," Sloane said, amused. "You're Taako's boyfriend, right?"_ _

_ _"I guess my reputation proceeds me?" Kravitz asked, craning his neck to keep an eye on the wagons so he wouldn’t miss the start of the race._ _

_ _Somehow, he felt like he was about to get heckled. Being on the sidelines with Sloane was giving him flashbacks to sitting on the bleachers in high school. Her outfit had even more black than his, and he refused to turn from the wagons for a better look, but he was dead certain she was wearing Fantasy MCR's 2006 album cover on her shirt. He liked her instantly._ _

_ _"Merle announced your relationship like a proud parent. He's been talking you and Taako up for weeks," Sloane said with a casual shrug._ _

_ _“I have no idea what convinced him to like me,” Kravitz confessed. The feeling was hardly mutual, and he’d made a terrible first impression, what with lying to Taako and making him cry on the reveal. After that, it was a small miracle that they were so willing to accept him. _ _

_ _He supposed they must know Taako well enough to see how happy he was. And, like Kravitz, they reveled in his happiness._ _

_ _“Also, Merle’s been talking about us for weeks?” Kravitz realized belatedly. “Taako and I haven't been together that long... I'm sorry, I'm being rude. I guess you already know, but my name’s Kravitz. It's nice to meet you."_ _

_ _"Sloane. Nice to meet you, too. Your name’s new to me," she said. "Merle's an oddball. Neither me nor Hurls met him on purpose. But I think he's the kind of guy who can make you feel like you've been friends for ages. By the way, it looks like they’re starting.”_ _

_ _Up on the cliff, Magnus shouted, “On your mark! Get set! Gooooooooo!!!”_ _

_ _The air horn blared. Hurley’s ram wagon peeled down the trail. She was pedaling furiously and steering while Merle held onto her waist; the pedals in the back were sized for Sloane’s legs, much too low for him. Behind them, Taako’s bike vied for dominance, while the Burnsides brought up the rear._ _

_ _"Oh. Oh, boy," Kravitz said, as the reality of the race sunk in. He felt bad that Lup wasn't here to back her brother up. "Do you suppose Taako has a chance?"_ _

_ _“The Phoenix Blitz handles curves the best,” Sloane explained, “but the cliff trail is mostly too narrow for passing, and my Winged Ram is faster on the straightaway. Taako’s got to slip ahead at the first chance he gets. And, if Hurley can’t keep her lead, the Iron Bear has a real chance of winning this. It can power through the meadow, while Taako will wear out on the uphill stretch right before the finish.”_ _

_ _Merle and Hurley burst above a line of bushes before falling heavily from visibility. Kravitz had no idea what they managed to ramp. Behind them, he caught a flash of Taako squeezing up alongside, before the trail curved away from the cliff’s edge. The Phoenix’s pennants were flapping against the Ram. Kravitz was terrified they would catch on wheels and Taako would be dragged off._ _

_ _He was reassured to hear Taako crow, “Ha! Eat it, Burnsides!” from somewhere in the trees. No way Magnus and Julia could pass him, not ‘til the meadow and only then if they wanted to dance with some cactus._ _

_ _The wagons broke out of the treeline as the slope steepened downwards. Kravitz clenched his fists, practically vibrating. Hurley grinned and put on more speed, and oh no, absolutely not! They careened down the track towards the sharpest turn, a wide switchback that terminated just before the creek. Taako was focused on passing the Ram, while the Iron Bear’s mass rapidly bore down on them. _ _

_ _"Wait," Kravitz said. He squinted as the wagons’ descent drew them further away. "Is there a bridge crossing the creek over on that side?"_ _

_ _Sloane grinned and toasted with an open can of beer. "Nope."_ _

_ _Taako coughed and ducked as a flurry of delicate petals swirled down from the trees. He could’ve sworn those weren’t in full bloom a minute ago. “Dammit Merle!” Merle cheekily saluted as the Ram slowed to take the switchback._ _

_ _The Bear tore up alongside the Phoenix. “One side!” Magnus hollered with a blast of his air horn._ _

_ _“Don’t count on it!” Taako retorted. A little further and he’d pull out his secret weapon. He was gonna win this thing yet._ _

_ _Kravitz swore by every power he knew, and his queen in particular, as Taako grazed a bush. The pennant banner caught and snapped free when the offending twigs broke, sending Taako into a dangerous wobble. Magnus opened his mouth to heckle and inhaled a spray of flower petals. His coughing fit set the Bear back as the wagons hitched around the bend and pelted towards the creek._ _

_ _"The cliff is a cakewalk compared to the rest of the track. No one's ever gone off the side before," Sloane commented._ _

_ _Kravitz laughed, slightly hysterical. "Is that so? What happens when they reach the creek?"_ _

_ _Taako veered around a root that definitely would’ve cost him time if he’d hit it. They were almost to the creek; he was pulling up close to Merle and Hurley again. The Ram hit the dirt ramp and jumped, but the Phoenix launched just after and _flew_._ _

_ _“Woooohoooo! Fuck yeah!” Taako called in midair. He hit the ground at full speed on the other side, pulling up even with the Ram. Behind them, the Bear stuck the landing with a heavy thud._ _

_ _"Did you see that?" Kravitz exclaimed. He clapped exuberantly and wheeled to follow the path of the wagons as they zipped up the creek embankment and were momentarily eclipsed by another copse of trees. A moment later, they burst out into sunlight. Meadowgrass, tall and golden, rustled like a storm as the wagons tore through. Flower petals whirled around Hurley and Merle. The streamers garlanding Taako shone like a thousand stars. "The way he made that jump! That was amazing!"_ _

_ _"Do you regret sidelining yourself now?" Sloane said with a knowing smirk. "Wish you could've helped him?"_ _

_ _"He has this," Kravitz declared, gesturing with the utter certainty that he would've only slowed Taako down. "He'll take the lead in seconds!"_ _

_ _Sloane shook her head. "You'd think that, but this is the part of the track Merle cleans up on. Trust me."_ _

_ _Bright blue flowers waved amidst the golden sea of grass. As the Ram whipped past, the grass parted around stubby, grey-green cacti, scattered throughout the field like landmines. Kravitz's heart leapt into his throat. Julia and Magnus raised their legs and the Bear plowed right over a thin line of cacti that the Ram and Phoenix had to dodge, gaining ground._ _

_ _Taako peeled around another cactus, still fighting to pass Merle and Hurley. He could hear Magnus and Julia thundering up behind on his left, and his ears pressed back at the sound of their air horn._ _

_ _Then the grass stiffened and the cacti fucking _jumped_ at him. He let out a strangled yelp. “Merle, you bastard!”_ _

_ _Merle waggled fingers and shot him a wink. Taako swerved, avoiding the cacti, but the grass snatched at his pennants. Their banner pulled taut and his bike did a full three-sixty, wheels skidding, flattening grass and freeing his pennants but losing speed. The Bear passed him by running right over another jumping cactus. Julia and Magnus shrieked in tandem._ _

_ _Taako pedaled furiously to catch up, his breath coming short already. The Bear pulled even with the Ram as the meadow rose in a low hill towards the trees surrounding the firepit. Kravitz was still on his feet, his hands clasped in front of his mouth as if in prayer._ _

_ _“I’ve got needles in my _shin!”_ Magnus shouted. As the Bear nosed ahead, he veered it towards the Ram, forcing them off-center._ _

_ _“Don’t hate the player, hate the game!” Merle yelled back, kicking at the Bear to absolutely no effect._ _

_ _They were bearing down on the finish line. The Phoenix was going as fast as Taako could manage. It was time. “Hate _this!”_ Taako shouted._ _

_ _He cast Enlarge. Instantly, the Phoenix ballooned in size. The taller wheels towered high above the grass. They ate up ground even as Taako crossed his legs on the humongous seat to keep them out of the way of the whirling pedals. The cacti barely presented a speed bump (any tire punctures could wait ‘til later). “Yeah! Fuck yeah!” Taako hollered. He skidded to a stop on the other side of the finish line, just ahead of the Bear and Ram._ _

_ _Kravitz cheered. He beat through the brush lining the border of the meadow and rushed to Taako's bike, which had left a trail of destruction and glinting threads of streamers in its wake. "That was incredible!"_ _

_ _Taako slung an arm around Kravitz. “Babe, did you see? I hit that jump, gods what a rush! Pay up, Burnsides!” he demanded jubilantly as Magnus and Julia climbed out of their wagon._ _

_ _“Yeah, yeah,” Magnus said, rolling his eyes as he fished out his wallet. A patch of skin on his right leg was dotted with cactus needles, but he wasn’t visibly bleeding. Julia had a matching patch on her left calf. Neither of them seemed to care. “We’ll beat you next time. So don’t spend the money, cuz you’re gonna need to hand it back over.”_ _

_ _Kravitz tangled his fingers in Taako's hair. He brought their faces together and kissed him gleefully, alight with adrenaline and pride._ _

_ _Magnus waved a couple twenties near their joined faces. "I've got this and a fistful of laundry quarters, take 'em and I'll owe you eight-ish."_ _

_ _Taako didn’t break the kiss, he just took the bills, shoved them into his back pocket, and then brought his arm up to wrap around Kravitz’s neck. When their lips finally parted, he laughed a little. “Good news babe, I’m rich now.”_ _

_ _Julia snickered. “These two,” she said, shaking her head. “Sappy as all get-out.” She hypocritically linked her arm with Magnus’s and rose on tiptoes to leave a kiss on his beard._ _

_ _"I remember those days," Magnus said wistfully, as he turned his face to kiss back, open-mouthed. Julia hugged his side, shoulders heaving with laughter._ _

_ _"Remember them? That was yesterday!" Merle huffed, feigning annoyance. "None of you young people can keep your spit to yourselves."_ _

_ _Hurley raised her hand. "Hey, as the person who was in the wagon with you when you made all those trees nut just now? Pot, meet kettle."_ _

_ _Kravitz pulled a face against Taako's mouth, breaking their kiss. “What on earth? Tree— Yuck! Thanks for putting _that_ into my head.”_ _

_ _"You're welcome. Let’s do beer time!" Julia sang. She skipped over to drag the cooler out of the back of the Bear, only limping slightly. "Merle can explain his thing with Pan at the campfire while he patches us up."_ _

_ _"Yeah, okay, I think most of us have definitely heard enough about Pan already, but I could use a beer," Hurley said with a shrug. "I'd bet money Sloane started without us. But it doesn't look like we need to do much anything here. Good job, people, for not breaking any of the wagons this time." Merle joined her in a golf-clap._ _

_ _“I could go for a s'more," Kravitz said, circling an arm around Taako's waist. He was very glad said waist had not ended up as a pincushion for cactus needles. "What do you think, dear?"_ _

_ _“Hell yeah, babe, let’s do it,” Taako agreed. He linked arms with Kravitz and they headed over to the campfire._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Observant readers will note that it's pretty irresponsible for them to have a fire when the forest is 'dry as tinder'.
> 
> I think the conclusion to reach is that 90% of everything in this chapter is pretty darn irresponsible! But at least the THB didn't murder anyone, right?


	38. We Are Wild/young volcanoes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Is Merle here to serve as our chaperone?” Kravitz asked, outraged. “Is that where we’re at as a group, six chucklefucks with maybe four brain cells between them, helpless without Merle-fuckin’-Highchurch?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when fun was legal? Yeah, us too. Happy last-weekend-in-July! (Wear your mask and practice social distancing.)

Julia set her cooler down in a convenient spot and flipped the lid open. Taako tugged his mask off and pulled the package of marshmallows from a bag, along with a bottle of hand sanitizer he’d thrown in at the last second, because _somebody_ had to remember to care about hygiene and that person probably wasn’t gonna be Magnus or Merle. “You guys have the chocolate and graham crackers?”

“Yeah, lemme get ‘em,” Magnus hollered.

“I’ll find us some good roasting sticks,” Merle volunteered, heading into the trees.

“Yeah, okay, just don’t tell us about it after,” Taako called, snickering explosively before he got the words out. After he recovered, he turned to offer the hand sanitizer to Kravitz. “Need some of this, babe?”

"Please." Kravitz gratefully accepted the bottle. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Tell me what's up with Merle and plants before he gets back and I have to suffer through his version of an explanation."

Taako stifled a laugh. "Krav, babe, darling, we're gonna eat, I guarantee you don't wanna hear that right now. I learned not to ask questions about it a long time ago."

Magnus ripped open the top of a box of graham crackers. "Clean!" Taako ordered sharply, pointing to the bottle in Kravitz's hands. "We're not animals."

Magnus set the box down on a camping chair. "Oops, yeah, I guess I’m kind of sweaty" he said sheepishly, turning to Kravitz. "Can I have that when you're done?"

"Yes," Kravitz said, promptly wiping his hands and handing the sanitizer over to Magnus. He turned to pat Taako down. "You're sure you're unhurt? No cactus needles anywhere?"

“All good, handsome,” Taako assured him, wriggling a little as Kravitz’s hands skimmed down his body. He let Kravitz maneuver them to sit pressed together on the downed log at the fireside. Sloane staked out the one camping chair big enough for cuddling before the race even began and Hurley was clambering into her lap. “No one crashed even a little, it was a really good race.”

“Except for the part where Magnus and Julia’s legs were ventilated?”

“I’ll be fine!” Magnus insisted. He leaned down and pulled a needle out of his shin with a dramatic wince. “Yeah, okay, that smarts.”

“No shit!” Julia laughed. She’d opted to sit on the end of the log closest to the fire and relax her leg, leaving the needles alone for now. “Hey, baby, tell me someone remembered a first aid kit?” She shot imploring looks at Hurley and Sloane, as if they were the most responsible party here.

“I’ve got one,” Hurley said, segueing into a playful grimace. “In my car, I mean.”

“Just, like, pour that shit on your holes.” Taako gestured to the hand sanitizer. “After the needles come out, probably?”

A debate on proper first aid technique by six young people who were utterly unqualified to discuss the issue followed. It resolved that Julia could probably educate the group on burn care, but was more entertained by getting Magnus to repeat buckwild nonsense as truth. “You know how really hot water can suddenly feel cold? That trick works for burns. My preferred technique is to slather on the hot sauce,” she said at one point, which forced a noise like the wheezing of a squashed chew toy out of Kravitz.

Sloane and Hurley each stubbornly believed that the other should be more informed on first aid, based on shared experiences that dove straight from semi-legal into probably-felonious. Meanwhile, Kravitz might be the only one present who’d been minded by responsible adults for a significant chunk of his life. “Is Merle here to serve as our chaperone?” he asked, outraged. “Is that where we’re at as a group, six chucklefucks with maybe four brain cells between them, helpless without Merle-fuckin’-Highchurch to fix the problem he begat?”

Magnus snorted at ‘begat’, exactly like there was an inside joke that Kravitz didn’t really get. “I mean, this kind of thing usually _is_ a Merle problem, for all the good he does.”

Taako popped another jumbo marshmallow in his mouth. He wasn’t above powering through the whole bag raw. Fortunately for everyone else, the dwarf of the hour could be heard crashing back out of the trees with roasting sticks.

“Are you going to eat all of those yourself?” Kravitz asked incredulously, finally twigging to Taako’s marshmallow crimes. He’d slowly snuck his arms around Taako’s torso, all without noticing that Taako was filling his cheeks like a hamster.

With Taako’s arms kind of pinned in a hug, Krav’s nose was out of tweaking range, so Taako pretended to nip at it, catching him totally off guard. Taako laughed at his adorably consternated face. “Babe, it’s been a million years since omelets, it’s deffo time to get down on some lunch. Here comes Merle with the sticks. Please tell me you like your marshmallows the good way: Gooey inside, toasty outside?”

"I don't have an opinion on marshmallows, except that they absolutely don’t qualify as lunch, so I'll defer to your expertise," Kravitz said, refusing to remove his hands from Taako's person, even as Taako pointedly jockeyed for elbow room so he could keep shoving raw marshmallows into his maw. Kravitz could be as expertly obstructive as any cat. "You know, I can't remember the last time I had s'mores. High school, probably."

“Then that means you’ll have to let me make sure you get good ones,” Taako said. He looked down at Kravitz’s hands and back up to his face smugly. “You find something cute to hold there, babe? Play your cards right and I’ll let you keep it.”

A few eye rolls were directed their way. Magnus hollered to ask Merle if he was stuck in the bushes and needed to be rescued. Heedless of all that, Kravitz grinned like a fool and grabbed for Taako's hand, bringing it up to his mouth to press a kiss to his palm. "I'm eager to secure a winning hand. Get it?"

Taako laughed. He turned his wrist and laced his fingers into Kravitz’s. “Sappy and funny. I hit the jackpot with you, my man,” he teased.

“Your savior has arrived!” Merle announced grandly, bursting out of the bushes with six long, thin roasting sticks. “Make these pointy for me, will ya, Mags?”

“I think you’re forgetting something, old man,” Magnus said, gesturing to the patch of cactus needles on his leg. Julia, without much fanfare, had already started pulling hers out.

“What, you’re still a pincushion? You big baby. Lemme take a look at that,” Merle said. He handed off the sticks to Magnus and crouched in the dirt next to his camping chair. Magnus twisted to fish out a pocket knife.

“What’s the damage, doc? Is my sweetheart gonna live?” Julia asked, flicking a cactus needle into the fire.

“Looks terminal,” Merle said gravely.

Magnus stuck his tongue out. “Guess someone else will have to whittle all this then. Taako, I leave it to you.”

Taako flicked a finger and one of the sticks went pointy on its own. Barely a cantrip. “There, that’s one. Pass it over, my boy needs a s’more.”

Magnus made to chuck the stick like a spear. Kravitz released Taako to bend forward and snatch it from him. “Thank you,” Kravitz said pleasantly, with a little bite, “for not putting anyone’s eye out.”

“It would’ve been an easy throw—” Magnus started to protest. Merle abruptly yanked a deep needle, surprising a whimper out of him.

“Quit bitchin’!” Merle ordered. “I’ve seen you break a wrist and laugh about it.”

“Needles are different,” Magnus insisted. “Maybe I should just not look.”

Taako rolled his eyes and selected a couple of choice, plump marshmallows for Kravitz to impale on the roasting stick. "You sure you trust where that's been?" Sloane teased.

"Hey! I can pick up a few sticks without using any moves on 'em," Merle retorted with a grin. He tugged another couple of needles out of Magnus’s shin. "Sticks are dead, y'know. They're easy."

"...I have missed all context for this conversation, haven't I?" Kravitz asked, leaning into Taako for safety.

“Yeah, pretty much babe,” Taako chuckled. “Swear it, old man.”

“I swear to Pan, no funny business,” Merle protested.

“Cool, it’s fine then,” Taako said, satisfied.

_"Pan?”_ Kravitz repeated with a tone of offense. The Panites that he encountered on campus were always insufferable. Apparently there wasn’t an important distinction to be drawn between the god of the wilds and Reggie Fitzpatrick, god of parties, because their followers could jointly be found swarming in the vicinity of frat row at all hours, punch-drunk (or drunk-drunk) on _joie de vivre_ and so intense in volume that their assemblages were best enjoyed from several blocks away.

If you asked Kravitz, their assemblages were best enjoyed from the safety of the stockade’s soundproof rooms. Only an act of god, goddess, or other deity could force him to set foot in the campus greenhouses again. The botany division maintained the sort of relationship with Pan that ought to not be appropriate for school. Keggers, as an act of worship, sufficed neither in reverence nor ceremony.

And, on the days that followed the greenhouses turning a blind eye to surely-illegal keggers popping up after hours, the passing sidewalk that led to the Fantasy Wendy's in the student union needed to be hosed down. After once hopscotching puddles of vomit for a Junior Cheeseburger Deluxe, Kravitz was firmly resolved to starve rather than endure another such assault on his dignity for a value menu meal. His resentment of the Panites (and the Fitzpatricks) was a principled resolution. He would be willing to defend his conviction in court, and able to produce full supporting evidence.

Aaaaand Merle was one of Taako's best friends. Sometimes, the Powers That Be were possessed of humor that Kravitz wished wasn't. Smiling with a cadaver's social graces, he squeezed Taako's hand and asked, in a far more polite tone, "As in, you worship Pan?"

Merle gave a good-natured laugh. “I’m a cleric of Pan. Don’t do a lot of preaching now, mind you. I’m a program director at the YMPA. We all have different callings, and mine’s making sure kids get a healthy dose of nature now and then. Camping trips, hiking, wilderness stuff, you name it.”

“He’s mostly good at dragging your secrets out, mixed bag healing-wise,” Taako cut in.

“You’re still kickin’, so you’re welcome,” Merle retorted without heat, plucking more needles out of Magnus’s leg hair. “Man, some of these are really tangled in here. You ever think about shaving this forest you have going on, buddy?”

Magnus cocked his head thoughtfully. “Uh, I guess, maybe?”

“Vetoed,” Julia said, tossing another handful of cactus needles into the fire. “I love you with all my heart, but we both know you wouldn’t keep up with it. You’d have scratchy coarse stubble all over your legs for months.” She got up from her seat to stoke the flames properly, since Sloane was too busy cuddling Hurley to continue in that role.

“Yeah, you’re right. That’s how I do with regular beard-shaving, too.”

"Merle, you're a cleric?" Kravitz's voice broke like a cheap plastic reed as he wrenched the conversation back on the rails. "As in, you have a special connection to your god that grants you magic powers?"

"Say it, don't spray it!" Merle commanded. Kravitz self-consciously wiped his mouth and then glared, because he hadn't spit! Not even a little!

Merle outright laughed at him. "No, really!" Kravitz persisted. "You're a cleric? And you work with children?"

"Sure, kids love me! I don't get to run around with 'em as much as I used to, what with all those stuffed-suit meetings directors hafta do, but I still head up our Extreme Teen Adventures program every summer. My daughter, Mavis, used to be one of my counselors—until this year, with her going off to college next month. It's good for kids to get a little dirt under their nails, and I'm there to make sure they do it. Really get in there and breathe some nature."

"No, no, that's great and all," Kravitz said, flailing his marshmallow stick for emphasis, "but let's get back to the magic powers. Your god grants you magic. That was the thing with the plants?"

Absurd. Unbelievable. Kravitz had spent his whole life in the Raven Queen's flock. From ages eight to eleven, he did a special bedtime prayer from his own imagination, begging for Her favor, and never once manifested powers.

The fact that he never met anyone else who was a cleric of the Raven Queen provided some consolation, but he wanted a divine sign of her favor. An accumulation of hours spent checking his bedclothes for black feathers only redoubled his fervor. He’d remained devout his entire adult life, and what had she ever done in recognition? Nothing! And he didn't even love her any less for it!

He was maybe a little grouchy, though. He really felt—he’d always felt—that there should be _something._ He was plagued by a sense of absence he couldn’t shake, one that approached a feeling of loss in dark moments.

He’d almost forgotten that he hadn’t dealt with those feelings since Taako entered his life.

"Yup, God grants me magic powers," Merle said, self-satisfied. "He talks to me plenty, too! We have a regular tea time."

Kravitz gave a slow blink at the absurdity of that statement. How could Merle be...well, Merle, and his god would shower him in flower petals? He wore khaki cargo shorts and socks with sandals, for gods' sake!

Oh, oh no. Was Taako secretly a Panite? Was that why they were friends? Kravitz turned a wide-eyed, speaking look on him.

“At least the petals he did earlier were just vaguely anime, babe, there are stories I could tell you about some vines… Nope,” Taako said, shaking his head. “Plants are for eating and making oxygen and looking cute, far as I’m concerned.”

“And building stuff!” Magnus added.

“Acceptable,” Taako agreed. “Clothing’s also fine, y’know, cotton, flax, whatever, I’m okay with that.”

“Or gifts!” Merle protested. “Did I show you guys the string-of-pearls Dav got me for our anniversary? It’s gorgeous, the leaves are real shapely—”

“Merle, no!” Hurley laughed. “Our poor, virgin ears!” Sloane hid a grin in her hair.

"Oh, gods," Kravitz said, voice going hollow. "The plant stuff with Merle is a sex thing, isn't it."

"It's not only a sex thing!" Merle cried.

"Yeah, but it for sure is one though," Taako countered. "Like, even if not _only—"_

"Yup, definitely," Hurley agreed, nose crinkling. "I'm not gonna forget that anytime soon."

"Aw, babe," Sloane said sympathetically, drawing Hurley closer into her side in a hug. "I'd better rest up so you can have your racing partner back, huh?"

Hurley brushed Sloane's hair over her opposite shoulder and wrapped around her arm. "Don't rush up getting well, but do know that I had to hear this dwarf talk dirty to stamens, and the stamens listened. I got a noseful of pollen earlier and I'm thanking my lucky stars I don't have allergies, because that experience? Horrific enough without 'em."

"Hey, I didn't ask them to nut just then!" Merle's eyes twinkled as he threw up his hands, jokingly defensive. Magnus covered his face. "I was just askin' for a show, a _distraction,_ to slow these lugs down! But a flower's gonna do whatever a flower wants to do, and never let it be said that I'm not a considerate lover...of nature."

"Please don't fucking call it 'nutting'," Magnus groaned. "If I ever hear those words again, I’ll shrivel up on the spot. There is definitely a scientific name for that and you know what it is, old man."

"When have I ever been good with names?"

"Hey, hey Mags, baby, sweetheart," Julia whispered, leaning over with an open beer for him, her lips brushing his sideburns. "Hey."

He shot her a confused look and reached for the beer. She caught his wrist and pressed a kiss to the underside, mischief curling her lips. His gaze softened, and as she let him take the beer, she pressed her lips to his ear and said, all smooth and sensual, _"Plant nutting."_

Kravitz, quashing a grin, led a chorus of groans. Taako leaned into Kravitz’s shoulder. “See babe? I just don’t ask. At least he’s around if one of us crashes, even if we do gotta put up with plant stuff.” He took Kravitz’s stick and stuck his marshmallows in the fire, now that Julia had it roaring along nicely.

Taako could get used to this. Even though Lup wasn’t here today, fitting Kravitz into his little group felt right. Sitting close and roasting marshmallows was good, maybe stealing a kiss as the sun went down later on. He could finally relax, and wasn’t that so much better than dressing up all cute and trying to be agreeable for a handful of dates with some other guy?

Merle finally finished up with Magnus’s leg. In the end, all the little puncture wounds barely bled, though Magnus complained plenty about his salty sweat getting into them even as he focused on whittling. Merle slapped his leg and moved to enjoy a beer in a camping chair.

Magnus picked up the box of graham crackers and pulled out a plastic sleeve, turning towards Taako and Kravitz. “You guys need some of these? Trade ya.”

"Ah, sure, we can trade, if Taako will relinquish the marshmallows," Kravitz said. Taako stuck his tongue out.

“I’ll do you one better, I’ll also give you a brand new, top-of-the-line marshmallow stick for your trouble,” Magnus said.

Kravitz turned pleading eyes on Taako. The smell of warm sugar was making his stomach grumble, and Taako’s commitment to a perfect golden-brown toastiness meant that the first batch of marshmallows was taking _forever_.

“Fine,” Taako said, grinning as he tossed the bag to Magnus. He snatched the thrown stick out of the air while Kravitz looked on, dismayed.

Kravitz made Magnus pass him the crackers, no throwing allowed. "Your blithe indifference to potential maiming makes more sense now, knowing that Merle can heal,” he said, impaling a handful of marshmallows and plunging them into the flames.

"Hey, no one ever said he could heal," Magnus joked, over a squawk of protest from Merle. "I sure haven't seen it. Also, your marshmallow's kind of on fire, there."

"They're just as good burnt as not," Kravitz insisted.

“Babe!” Taako laughed as he pulled his stick out of the fire. “Can’t believe...blow it out, oh my gods, and then for the next one I can show you how to get them perfect.”

“Maybe I don’t want them perfect.” Kravitz blew his charcoal marshmallows out and bit one off the stick. Black flakes showered down onto his shirt. “Maybe this is fine,” he said with a full mouth. The outer, burnt bits were...admittedly not great. The snow white inside was largely undercooked. Mmmm. Oops.

Taako snorted and stole the graham crackers off Kravitz’s lap. He glanced around. “Chocolate?”

“Got it, here, have some,” Julia said, passing over a couple of chocolate bars from a box. They’d gotten the big pack, it looked like. That was pretty necessary, because Magnus could put away half a dozen bars by himself.

“Thanks.” Taako accepted the chocolate and quickly assembled a s’more. “How’s your extra charcoal one, babe?”

“S’good,” Kravitz said, biting into another burnt marshmallow. “It’s hard to go wrong with sugar. Though I’m sure your way will be better. Everything you cook is.”

"Make me a s'more too, Taako?" Sloane asked with a sly smile. “I can’t reach from here.” From the way Hurley had crawled halfway into her lap, it was obvious why she didn’t want to move.

“Helpless, the lot of you! Here we go, gimme a minute.” Taako pulled more marshmallows from the bag, pushing several onto the end of his stick and setting it back over the fire before leaning in to give Kravitz a sticky little kiss. “Can’t believe I’m surrounded by burnt marshmallow people. First Lup, now you too? I suppose I can handle it.”

"I'm grateful that I have you to depend on." Kravitz brushed equally sticky lips across Taako's cheek and continued shamelessly, aiming to provoke a blush. "You're a marvelous chef, as brilliant as you are beautiful. You're unfairly talented, really. All the world should stand amazed at your splendor."

Taako laughed in delight, the tips of his ears flushing dark. “Charmer. You flatterer, saying all this sweet stuff, I’m gonna have to keep you!” He turned the marshmallows just a hair and pulled Kravitz into another sticky kiss. “I’ll feed you good and you can play me songs, it’s a perfect plan.”

"I'll serenade you in your kitchen. It is the perfect partnership," Kravitz agreed with his lips against Taako's.

Loud, fake gagging sounds interrupted them. "Gross," Magnus said cheerfully. "Me and Jules were never this bad."

"Nope, never," Julia agreed. "You guys have to pick out drinks so you have something to keep your mouths busy, because tonsil hockey is not a spectator sport. We've mostly got beer, maybe a couple ciders, Coke, Sprite, Fantasy Fanta. What'll it be?"

Taako smiled and pressed one more tiny kiss to Kravitz’s lips before pulling back and shifting the marshmallows a bit more. “Beer’s fine. And Mags, what about the escalator incident? You were so this bad.”

“The escalator incident was different!” Magnus protested.

“It was more public, if anything,” Merle observed with a chuckle.

"Do I want to know?" Kravitz asked, amused. "I'd enjoy it if it were someone else's turn to be on blast. Can it be story time?"

All told (and wagon-inspired heart attacks aside), this was the most fun Kravitz had had in ages. This was so much nicer than he remembered his youth group meetings being. And that said something right there, that his last frame of reference for casually socializing with a group of his peers was in the context of the Raven Queen's Fledgling Youth Program, circa 2007-2013. Mostly, he'd spent their afterschool sessions brooding against the wall. He never felt like he had much to say to the other teens.

Taako was vastly superior as company. His affectionate touch presented a deep, constant well of comfort for Kravitz's nerves. Plus, Taako's friends seemed to like him. A fragile hope was blooming in Kravitz's chest, that this could be a recurring event. He was ready to mold more of his life around Taako, eager to share joy with him.

That was...maybe more serious than he should be ready for in this relationship. They'd been together for less than a month. Kravitz banished that train of thought by stuffing another burnt marshmallow into his face.

“These two,” Taako said, gesturing to Magnus and Julia, oblivious to the twisting of his boyfriend’s internal monologue, “do not let them bullshit you, they are the sappiest pair, I swear it. When they’d been together...what, like a week? Two maybe? They went out to dinner, and you know that big outdoor escalator at the mall? They made out all the way down it. People were hollering and clapping, what’d that one guy yell again?”

“‘Yeah, boy! Tap that!’” Julia admitted, giving Magnus a fond look.

“Uh-huh,” Taako said. “And?”

“‘Get it, girl!’” Magnus supplied. “And then I almost tripped at the bottom, because making out on escalators is actually kind of unsafe.”

Taako gestured to the pair. “They’re no more valid than we are, it’s fine.”

"I wish Sloane and I had PDA stories, but we're actually pretty low-key in public," Hurley said, now fully in Sloane's lap, with Sloane's arms wrapped around her chest from behind and Sloane's chin resting on her shoulders.

"Because you're making up for how little this lot cares for decorum?" Kravitz asked.

"Naw, I've got a record and she's a cop," Sloane said with a tight grin.

Hurley shook her head and laughed. "Yeah, my coworkers would never let me live it down, and I want to keep Sloane off their radar. We, um, kind of met because I was supposed to be investigating her."

“That’s an understatement. We met because you were tailing me,” Sloane said. “Derailed my whole day. That’s why I had to buy you that coffee, since I couldn’t get my work done anyway.”

Hurley, spluttering and squeaking, hid her face against Sloane’s arm. “Can’t believe you made me,” she mumbled.

“You’re not sneaky, babe. You look like a cop even out of uniform. Of course I made you. And then, I made out with you.” Sloane smiled fondly and pressed a kiss into Hurley’s hair.

“It’s a real sweet story,” Merle said. “I always knew you two were gonna be okay.”

Hurley sat up and laughed. “Merle, your memory’s going again. Sloane and I were already together when we met, remember?”

Merle stroked his beard. Little pink flower petals were mixed in there from earlier. No telling if he’d left them on purpose or not. "You’re right, but I was talking about th’ other thing. Anyway, I always say, Sloane, if you wanna go the straight and narrow, you can come and work with me."

"And I always say, Merle, while I like gardening and nature more than most people, I'm sure as hell not gardening with you. Hurley and I are monogamous."

"Fair, fair. You could help out with the kids?"

Sloane leveled a look at him. "In any given group of children, one of them will eventually do something utterly stupid. I would have a meltdown while trying to discipline them appropriately, without losing my temper. And then you'd have to fire me."

“Discipline’s the easy part! If they screw up bad enough that it’s worth mentioning, all you gotta do is tell ‘em you’re disappointed an’ you know they’re better than how they’ve been acting. Works every time.”

“Your advocacy for that technique illustrates why you’re better suited to caring for children. Personally, I’m partial to thumbscrews,” Sloane joked.

“Yeah, yeah, maybe don’t say that too loud. Hurley won’t take ya in, but Krav here kinda looks like a narc. You dating a narc, Taako?”

“What? No,” Taako sputtered. He nudged Kravitz playfully. “Just keep in mind, babe, the harder they roast you the more they like you.”

"I do not look like a narc," Kravitz said, feigning offense. "What part of me says narc?" He gestured from his shoulder to knee, at what he thought was a casual ensemble: t-shirt, jeans, his good pair of shoes that Taako had so graciously returned.

"It's more about how you carry yourself," Sloane said. She gestured vaguely and then slid her hand into the hair fanning around Hurley's neck. "I can't put my finger on it, but partly, it's that you stiffened up the second you and Taako stopped being mushy. Your body language says that you're on edge. If I was casing this place and on the lookout for suspicious people, you'd be number one on my list."

Merle grinned. "Exactly. You can relax, kid, we're not gonna bite! Well, maybe if you asked Taako—"

"Nope!" Hurley and Magnus both cried, drowning him out.

Kravitz grinned. Conscientiously, he shuffled across the rough bark of the log until his and Taako's knees were touching. "I do feel welcome here," he said quietly. "And I'd appreciate a cider, thank you. I have cash, if someone needs reimbursed for the drink."

Taako opened his mouth wide and closed it again in a playful snap at the air between them. He winked, then finished assembling a s’more and got up to pass it to Sloane.

Magnus fished out the cider and handed it to Kravitz. “What’s this cash you speak of? I can’t count suddenly.”

“He won’t take it,” Taako put in, accepting his beer from Magnus. “I bickered with him once for like fifteen minutes about this kinda thing. We brought marshmallows, next time we’ll bring something else, that’s how this works. Cheers.” Taako held up his beer.

"Cheers," Kravitz said. He knocked their cans together. Though he had yet to take a sip, already a slow warmth was dawning on his face, spreading outward from his smile. "Next time, then. We have no excuse to not provide libations, considering our place of work."

"Woo! Fancy drinks!" Julia cheered.

"Heck yeah, if you bring me some of those wine coolers, you can come back any time," Merle said. "Ooh, wait, lemme change that order— What d'ya have for margarita mixers?"

"Yeah, because the last time that we hauled a big bag of crushed ice out here went so well," Magnus said, rolling his eyes. Immediately, Kravitz barked a laugh; he could imagine what a disaster that must have been. Anyone could have told them that crushed ice would fuse into a lumpy iceberg as it melted.

"Fine, fine, I abstain!" Merle said. "Kravitz and Taako can figure this out."

"We'll think of something," Kravitz promised. "If you come by the shop on a weekday morning, you're welcome to help me brainstorm."

"Aw, so I'm not banned for life after all?" Merle chuckled. "I'd be happy to oblige you, buddy."

Kravitz simply shrugged with a sheepish smile. He held onto Taako until his s'more was ready. The graham cracker was flavorful and not overly crumbly, the marshmallow a toasty, golden brown, nestling into rich, melty chocolate. He ate it gleefully and licked his fingers when he was done.

His lips were glazed with sugar. Laughter bubbled readily from his chest. He was warm, sitting with Taako this close to the fire, but rather than being oppressive, the heat wrapped him like a comfortable blanket and left his pulse a steady thrum.

Taking every opportunity to ghost his lips across Taako's cheek, or kiss the backs of his knuckles, Kravitz let the raucous peace wash over him. Distantly, he was at a loss for the last time he felt this sense of belonging anywhere outside the Raven Queen's temple.

When the sun was nearly set and the cliffside was awash in grays and blues, the water of the creek abyssally black in its shadow, Magnus stamped out the campfire and Hurley poured several beer cans' worth of water over the last dying embers. Kravitz lent Sloane and Julia a hand in ensuring all the trash was corralled safely into coolers, burnt beer cans included, as Taako lazily waved fairy lights in a circle overhead.

They wheeled the wagons back up the trail and out of the forest to find the windows of Angus's house were ablaze, including both corners of the seldom-used upper rooms that were visible from the detached garage. Kravitz hung back and held Taako's hand while Magnus and Julia strong-armed the wagons back into storage.

A bleary Angus wandered out into the yard. His hair was a bird's nest, his glasses were smudged with fingerprints like he'd been rubbing his eyes, and he was carrying a steaming mug of coffee the size of Magnus's fist. He blinked owlishly at them.

"Hey, Ango, buddy. You look like you haven't slept in a week, what gives?" Taako asked with concern. "It can't be school, everything okay with Ronald?"

Angus yawned hugely. "I'm alright sirs, we both are. It's a case I'm working on. I've almost got it cracked wide open," he said, self-satisfied. He lifted the mug of coffee to his lips.

Taako shook his head. "C'mon, you need sleep. You haven't hit your full height yet, and you won’t ever get there if you’re mainlining caffeine. I'm pulling rank as your former babysitter, my dude. If they're dead, they'll stay dead 'til you get a solid eight hours, and if they're not dead then it can’t be that serious. Let's go, march," he ordered, waving Angus back into the house.

"Aw, but sir!" Angus protested, curling protectively around his mug. "I'm close to a breakthrough!"

"Angus," Kravitz said soothingly. He circled out as he approached, so that Angus couldn't track both him and Taako at once. "You can't be in peak form if you don't rest. There's little in life so important as to be worth sacrificing your health." When Angus turned towards him, Taako swooped in and gently snatched the mug away. An awake Angus never would have fallen for it.

“You’ll need all your energy for that breakthrough, sounds like. C’mon, let’s go,” Taako ordered. He wrapped an arm around Angus’s shoulders and shepherded him up the five steps to the back door.

“It’s a very important case, for a very important client. I could right a terrible wrong!” Angus said.

Taako held the door open and ushered Angus into the kitchen. “I’m one-hundo percent sure your client won’t want you to run yourself into the ground. Sleep, then finish.”

From how dead Angus seemed, he must have hardly slept the previous night. The coffee implied he’d been preparing to repeat the experience. Kravitz shook his head. He'd like to claim that his own workaholic tendencies, while overt, had never been quite that bad.

Taako was obviously up to the challenge. Watching him dote on Angus brought a shy smile to Kravitz's face. Being so smart, Angus surely knew how lucky he was to have Taako in his life.

Kravitz certainly felt lucky.

"Hey, Krav!" Julia called. She shut the garage door and dusted her hands off. "Where do you need to get dropped off? We’ve still got room, or you could hitch a ride with Hurley if that's better."

"I think I'll ask Taako if I can stay over. My books and notes are at his place, and I know I won't get any work done tonight if I have to cart all that back to my apartment first.”

The back door slammed open. Taako bounced down the steps and grabbed Kravitz in a hug. “I was hopin’ you’d say that. I’ll help you study!”

Magnus shook his head and laughed. “I’m telling Lup you’re using her moves,” he called.

Taako’s ears reddened. “Shut up, Burnsides!”

Kravitz coughed delicately into a raised fist. "Truth be told, I can't pretend studying was my only intention either."

"We know!" Angus called from the kitchen. "It doesn't matter how good your poker face is if you have no plausible deniability for your motivation."

Kravitz squeezed his eyes shut and ignored Merle and Magnus losing their shit behind him. "Finish putting the child to bed, dear," he entreated Taako.

Taako let loose a laugh and darted back through the door. “Upstairs, let’s go,” he ordered Angus. “I’ve gotta get home, and I wanna see you bright-eyed on Monday, got me?”

“Got it,” Angus replied. “I will, I promise. I’ll shower and go to bed.”

“Excellent. I’ll take care of this,” Taako held up the mug, “and get out of your hair. Is your grandfather asleep?” Angus nodded. “Tell him hi in the morning and I’ll see him on Wednesday. Night, Angus.”

“Night, sir,” Angus replied with a yawn, heading upstairs.

Taako emerged a few moments later, clattering down the steps to the backyard after locking up behind him. “Alright, good to go.”

Kravitz was lurking near the door, ready to make a bid for Taako's hand, but Magnus managed to charge across the yard and beat him to it. He grabbed Taako by the shoulders. "Taako! Tacos!"

"Tacos!" Julia called from the edge of the driveway, walking alongside Hurley's Corvette as she backed up over the gravel.

Hurley leaned her head out of the window. "Tacos! Tacos! Me and Sloane are going on ahead, see you there!"

"Yes, so, this has been happening," Kravitz said. During the two seconds Taako took to see Angus off to bed, pandemonium erupted in the yard. "Magnus started it."

"To be fair," Magnus said with a grin, "none of us have had real food today. Getting Fantasy El Torito would be the responsible thing to do."

Kravitz rolled his eyes. "Speak for yourself, remember the breakfast you interrupted?”

Taako shrugged out of Magnus’s grasp. “Okay! Tacos! Omelets were a long time ago. I could eat a horse.”

“Yeah! Shotgun!” Magnus called, taking off at a run towards where the truck was parked on the curb.

Taako shook his head, amused. “There he goes, huh? We’d better catch up, babe.”

Before answering, Kravitz linked their elbows together for the short walk to the truck. "Dinner out with your friends, and then bed? I've come around to the idea that we should make an early night of it. I can study tomorrow."

“Long as you’re sure, I could go for early to bed. Get you all snug in there.” Taako sighed happily. “This was fun, I’m glad you came out here, even if we were kidnapped. I like that we could all hang out a little. I think the boys like you, now.”

"I like them too. I had a great time," Kravitz said. There wasn't much else he could put into words. Ambling through the muggy air of a summer twilight, arm-in-arm with Taako, felt so, so nice. Everything was keener to his senses—the heavy weight of hair against the back of his sweaty neck, the bony hook of Taako's bare arm around his, the way their footfalls crunched in sync over worn gravel—but in a way that left him at peace, instead of being overwhelming like he would expect.

Becoming lost in music, or anticipating a risky gamble, reliably made him feel alive. Or, he had thought so. Remembering those feelings made him even more certain that the way he thrilled to be in Taako's company was something more. He was abruptly certain that, if they kissed again, Taako would be able to feel his pulse in his lips and hear his heartbeat in his chest.

Kravitz supposed he had been lonely for a very long time. Cloaked in it comfortably enough to forget that shedding that weight was even possible. 

He swept around to pull Taako into a hug. "Thank you," he whispered, "for bringing me along with your friends. I had a wonderful night."

“Get in the truck, lovebirds!” Merle yelled.

“Come on, babe.” Taako laughed and hugged Kravitz back. “The night’s not over yet, and there’ll be plenty more like it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~*+{BLUPJEANS DATE TRACKER}+*~
> 
> 6) Saturday the 13th of July
> 
> "I'm never leaving your bed," Lup announced.
> 
> Barry turned over and propped his head up to look at her. "I mean, not that I mind," he said, idly scratching his bare stomach, "but it sort of sounds like you have a reason other than wanting to spend more time with this hot bod."
> 
> Lup snickered. "Babe, I'm really digging the house aspect of this sitch, but like— It's _empty?_ You barely own furniture? This house is a cave, and it's mostly tile. Way too cold for me to put my feet on. Ergo, I live in your bed now."
> 
> Barry chuckled. "Yeah, I don't really...spend free time at home, I guess. Didn't, at least. Buying a bunch of stuff to decorate with sounded like too much of a chore when nobody except me and my mom would see it."
> 
> Lup snuggled into the covers and flopped over to face him. "And so that's why your office is the only room that looks lived in, huh? I guess I'll have to stick around and help you shop. This place needs a woman's touch. You don't even have rugs, I can't let that stand."
> 
> Barry smiled and curled in for a kiss. "That's more than okay with me."
> 
> ~+*{LOVE METER: Impending trip to Fantasy Target!!!}*+~
> 
> .  
.  
.
> 
> What's Angus working on, anyway?
> 
> .
> 
> I got carried away with this chapter's Tumblr promo and wrote [another bonus scene](https://tansyfandom.tumblr.com/post/624853138423382016/vibing-and-keeping-it-tight-chapter-38).

**Author's Note:**

> **Tanacetum:** Shoutout to Stealthtable for inviting me to play in this space. Their impeccable sense of comedy is the foundation for this project. Thanks to them, all my terrible modern!Kravitz headcanons have found a loving home.
> 
> We don't have Grindrs, bootleg or otherwise, but catch us on Tumblr at [ Stealthtable](http://stealthtable.tumblr.com/) and [ Tansyfandom](https://tansyfandom.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Our tag for Vibing meta, including some juicy spoilers, is [ #vibing-and-keeping-it-tight](https://tansyfandom.tumblr.com/tagged/vibing-and-keeping-it-tight)


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